The Breakfast Club 2012
by x.Cult Of Personality.x
Summary: They were eight total strangers: An overachiever, a cheerleader, a musician, a geek, an artist, a recluse, a rebel, and a tough chick. They only met once, but just that one Saturday detention changed their lives forever. Mixed WWE/TNA high school fic.
1. The Meeting

**_AN: Kay, peeps, new story time! This is a remake of the old 1985 cult classic, the Breakfast Club. I know nothing beats the original, but hell, I tried. Hope this is to your liking._**

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**Chapter 1 **

It was a cold, early morning in the city of Lincoln, Nebraska, where eight students from the Lincoln Southwest High School were arriving to serve their Saturday detentions.

_Hey, hey, hey, hey_

_Won't you come see about me?_

_I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby_

_Tell me your troubles and doubts_

_Giving me everything inside and out and_

_Love's strange so real in the dark_

_Think of the tender things that we were working on_

_VO: "Saturday, March 24, 2012. Lincoln Southwest High School, Lincoln Nebraska, 68516. Dear Mr. Cole...we agree to the fact that we had to sacrifice all of our busy Saturdays here in detention for whatever it was that we all messed up on, and we did indeed mess up. But with all due respect, we think that you're insane for making us write this paper telling you who we all think we are. What the hell do you care? You only see us as how you WANT to see us in your eyes. You see us as an overachiever, a rebel, an artist, a geek, a cheerleader, a loner, a musician, and a tough chick. Right? Well, that's the way we saw each other at seven o' clock this morning. That was before we really got to see each other's true colors..."_

_Show change may pull us apart_

_When the light gets into your heart, baby_

_Don't you forget about me_

_Don't, don't, don't, don't_

_Don't you forget about me_

Detention that morning was held in the school's library, which was pretty huge and spacious in contrast to how large the room should usually be. In the room, there were six tables that were set in two rows of three.

Velvet Sky, the school's most popular cheerleader, entered the place first and took her seat at the front left table. She dressed entirely in pink, and was probably the most beautiful girl in the school, considering the way the lowerclassmen of the school would worship her, the wannabes wanted to BE her, guys would die to get a date with her, and some of her fellow cheerleaders were even jealous of her because of her wealthy upbringing. She took out a mirror from her purse and checked her hair and make up, making sure that she looked absolutely perfect. "Ah, beautiful as always. Just can't believe they made me come...here after skipping ONE day of school just to go to the mall, I mean, come on!" she scoffed to herself.

_Will you stand above me?_

_Look my way, never love me_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down_

Next, Alex Shelley, the musician of the school, arrived next and took his seat at the table behind hers. He wore a red graphic tee, with a black leather jacket, which he never left home without. Being the musician, he was very fond of his guitar, but more than that, he loved to sing. In fact, he had his own band called the High Crusade, in which he was the lead singer of. His band was supposed to have a rehearsal today, but Shelley was pissed that he had to miss rehearsal in order to be there at the library.

_Will you recognize me?_

_Call my name or walk on by_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down, down_

_Hey, hey, hey, hey..._

Chris Sabin, the brain of the school and the self proclaimed overachiever, came in next, looking around the room for a place to sit. He pointed to the chair next to Velvet's, and she eyed him down before shrugging as an 'ok' for him to sit there. He sighed, angry that he was there serving detention, because he had NEVER gotten in trouble like this before. His parents were very disappointed with him, and Chris had that hanging over his head the entire time, along with thoughts of how this detention would damage his permanent record forever.

In walked Mickie James, who was grumbling something as she stomped over to one of the back tables. On the outside, she was beautiful and a little short for her age, but made up for that by constantly putting people in their places. If anyone had spoke wrong about her or had a problem with her, she wouldn't hesitate to stuff them in a locker or nearly superkick their heads off. Sometime last week, someone in particular had pissed her off so much that she had to take some desperate measures, and uh...here she ended up. Velvet, Alex, and Chris looked back at her when she caught them and cried, "WHAT?"

They quickly turned back around.

_Don't you try to pretend_

_It's my feeling we'll win in the end_

_I won't harm you or touch your defenses_

_Vanity and security_

After that, AJ Lee, the resident geek of the school joined the crew next. She was the shyest girl in the school, and once she saw everyone looking at her, her head instinctively drooped down as she quickly scuffled to Alex's table and took a seat next to him. Although she was a geek, she was very pretty, but even though people had told her that, she was too insecure about herself to believe it. Her hobbies involved watching Anime, playing video games, and her very favorite, reading retro comic books. Oh, and she absolutely adored converse sneakers, owning a pair in almost every type and color. Truthfully, she couldn't stand the popluars because they had always looked down on the geeks, and when Velvet turned to look at her, AJ looked up for a second before rolling her eyes a little.

"Hey." Alex's voice said, turning her attention to him.

"H-Hi." she said quietly, smiling a little.

_Don't you forget about me_

_I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby_

_Going to take you apart_

_I'll put us back together at heart, baby_

Next, Jeff Hardy, the resident artist of the group, joined the fray with his sketchbook in hand. He was the nicest guy that you could possibly meet, and he got along with everyone in the school, but despite his popularity, he preferred to hang out alone most of the time and to just draw the day away with his sketchbook. Something else that made him stand out in the crowd was the fact the he dyed his hair a different color every day and even painted his nails to match. Everyone else in the room eyed him down and in reply, he sighed, rolled his eyes, and took his seat at the back table at the back of the room.

_Don't you forget about me_

_Don't, don't, don't, don't_

_Don't you forget about me_

_As you walk on by_

_Will you call my name?_

_As you walk on by_

_Will you call my name?_

_When you walk away_

The seventh member of the group, Phil Brooks, or as he called himself, CM Punk entered the room and scanned everyone down before a smirk grew on his face. Before he sat down, he turned to the library's checkout desk and carelessly tossed a few things off, before stealing some money off of the counter. As you can see, he's the rebel of the group, and he's seen many detentions like this before. In fact, this may have been his 18th assigned detention this year. He looked down on authority and usually never did what he was told, and he thought that he was pretty badass for that thought alone. Next, he strolled down towards the back table, where Mickie was sitting. He looked at her, she looked back at him.

Punk said nothing and pointed at her, and then pointed to the opposite table as if to tell her to move.

She eyed him down. "No. I was here first."

"So?" he asked.

"SO, I'm not moving. YOU move." she replied.

"No, so how about I just take the seat right out from under you instead?" he asked with a smirk.

She leaned closer to him and whispered threateningly, "If you do that, I'll make you bleed so hard that you won't even know what year it is anymore."

He looked back at the brunette and let out a small chuckle. "Oh, try me, I've bled enough in my life, you couldn't do anymore if you tried." he replied before taking the seat next to hers and putting his feet up on the table, laying back.

And finally, the last member of the group, Maria Kanellis entered the room, met with surprised stares from her peers. She quickly looked at them before literally hopping to the back table, taking her seat next to Jeff. Like him, she was quite unusual in every way. For starters, she usually dressed entirely in black, and today's outfit was a black and gray striped hoodie, a black skull tee underneath, black jeans with chains, and black knee high boots to complete the look. The red hair covering most of her face was the one thing that made her stand out. Aside from her attire, she was a recluse and a loner who refused to hang out with anyone and she considered herself her own best friend. And instead of facing the front while she sat, she sat facing the side wall instead, not looking at anyone. While the others were still staring at her, Velvet and Punk snickered. Jeff on the other hand was curious to see her face, but since she didn't turn around, he looked in confusion before turning back to the front.

_Or will you walk away?_

_Will you walk on by?_

_Come on - call my name_

_Will you call my name?_

_I say: _

_La, la la la la..._

And right after that, the school's principal, the one and only tool, Michael Cole joined everyone in the room, scanning them all down with a satisfied yet evil grin on his face. He chuckled and began, "Well, well, well. Now you all know why you're all here. You're all here because you're all...BAD...SPOILED...LITTLE...CHILDREN!"

Velvet raised her hand.

"What?" he snapped.

"Uh yeah, can I go home now?" she asked, loudly chewing her gum.

Shocked, he gave her a look. "NO! Now it is 7:06, and you all have exactly eight hours and 54 minutes to think about why you're here. You FAILURES are here to think about the error of your ways-"

Punk spat his gum into the air and caught it back into his mouth.

Velvet glared back at him and cringed, as did Mickie, who shook her head and turned away.

"...and there is NO talking allowed! You will not move from these seats." Cole continued, when Alex interrupted, "Hey dude, when's chow time?"

"Yo, rooster hair!" he snapped back.

"Excuse me?" Shelley asked, insulted.

"I am your principal, and you will show me some respect!"

"Heh heh. Hey Cole, you're getting old, aren't ya?" Punk asked, chuckling. "I can see those gray nose hairs sticking right outta there!"

The others snickered when Cole approached him and pointed, "And YOU!"

"What?"

He shoved Punk's legs from off of the table.

"Don't test me." he finished darkly. "Now you spoiled little brats are not allowed to sleep for the duration of your stay here. So, people, we're gonna do something a little different today. You are going to write an essay - 1,000 words to be exact - describing to me uh...why you think I'm such an amazing principal." he smiled.

The students gave him blank looks.

"Loser." said Velvet.

"Tool." added Chris.

"Scum." added Alex.

"Jerk." added AJ.

"Geezer." added Mickie.

"Douchebag." added Jeff.

"Dipshit." Punk smirked.

"Doodyhead!" Maria added with a smile.

Cole shot her a look, along with everyone else.

"EEP!" she squeaked, before slamming her head on her desk, her hood falling over her head.

"...Okay. Anyhoo, I don't care what you little punks call me, I'm still better than you all! Now for the essay, you are going to write a 1,000 word paper describing to me who you think you are." Cole finished.

Punk halfheartedly raised his hand. "This some kinda test? Cause I'm happy to fail either way."

He passed out some paper and pencils to everyone and ignored him. "And when I say essay, I mean, ESSAY. Not one word repeated one thousand times. That your answer, Mr. Brooks?" he asked.

The rebel looked up. "Whatevs." he rolled his eyes.

"Good! Now maybe you'll learn something about yourselves that you never even knew. Maybe even-"

Chris raised his hand and stood up. "I have the answer to that, sir...I'd have to say that I wouldn't learn anything about myself because-"

"SIT DOWN, CINNAMON BUNS!" Cole shouted.

He quickly sat down.

"Now, my office is right across that hall." Cole pointed down a few feet across the room. And if you decide to act up...I'll catch ya. Because I'm like a fox. Sneaky to the max!" he tried to be cool.

Unimpressed, the gang just sent blank looks back at him, while he narrowly missed a spitball thrown at him.

"I'm gonna ignore that. Now any questions, peasants?"

"Yup, over here." spoke up Punk.

"Oh shut up, Punk, you're a fail."

"So was your dad's condom." he snapped back.

"OH!" the crowd exclaimed at once.

"Hey, hey, SHUT UP!" Cole snapped. "Mr. Brooks, you just earned yourself another Saturday detention for that crack, bub! Remember, you mess with the snake, you get the venom." he said, curling two fingers and trying to act tough. "Rawr!" he growled, before turning around and leaving.

"Wow, what a lightweight." Punk chuckled to himself.

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**_AN: Oh yeah, and the song is 'Don't You Forget About Me' by Simple Minds. If ya didn't know._**


	2. Punk's Rebellion

**_AN: Much thanks to everyone for their reviews on the first chapter! If I could, I'd give you all cookies, lol._**

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**Chapter 2**

So after that, the gang knew that they were in for a long day, so they tried to make themselves comfy, but froze once they all heard a loud biting sound. Velvet, followed by the others, slowly turned around to find Maria in her corner, nonchalantly biting her nails. Punk's eyes grew wide, looking in shock. After about 10 more seconds, Maria looked up to see everyone staring at her like she was a lunatic. Her eyes widened as if to say, 'What?'

"You know, if you keep munching on your hand, you're not gonna be hungry for lunch." Mickie spoke up.

The redhead pouted and blew a raspberry towards her in reply, before putting her head back down.

Jeff chuckled at this and began sketching something - or someone, in his book.

More silence.

"...Well, I'm bored, gonna go now." Punk began, but froze once he saw Cole peeking out towards them from his doorway. He groaned and sat back down.

Meanwhile at his desk, Chris was still trying to write his essay. "Who do you think I am?" he mumbled to himself, fiddling with his pen. "I got it! I...am...Jon Bon Jovi!" he wrote down.

Punk heard him and looked towards him, confused.

Sabin slowly turned around to look back, before chuckling nervously and then glancing towards Velvet, who turned to him and eyed him down again.

"So uh, come here often?" he asked the cheerleader, trying to make conversation.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked back.

"Oh, I-nothing, forget it." he shrugged.

Punk noticed this, crumpled up his paper, and tossed it towards Velvet, but the paper flew over her head.

The blonde scoffed. "Excuse me, was that supposed to hit me?" she demanded, whipping around.

"Maybe. All that pink that you're wearing is starting to give me pinkeye." CM retorted.

"Oh!" she shook her head, angrily turning back around.

"Hey, ignore him, all right?" Chris asked.

She glanced at him again and shrugged once again.

But right when the room got quiet again, Alex began singing to himself, "_We all live in a Pokemon world! I want to be the greatest master of them all! We all live-"_

"Why did life choose to do this to me?" Velvet muttered to herself.

"_...in a Pokemon world_-" Alex continued when Punk snapped, "DUDE!"

He turned around. "Oh hey, what's up?" he asked casually.

"Aren't you a little old for Pokemon?" he asked.

"Aw, you're never too old for Pokemon!" Shelley exclaimed. "Besides, I have a tendency to sing random songs out loud at any given moment."

As a reply, Punk rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Meanwhile, AJ turned to Alex and quietly asked, "You like Pokemon, too?"

"Sure do! It's one of those shows that I can't really grow out of, y'know?" he replied.

She nodded. "At least someone else understands like I do." she smiled.

He flashed her a smile in return.

"Oh, damn! Coleminer never told us what we're supposed to do if we have to take a piss!" Punk announced.

Mickie glanced at him and muttered, "Oh, please..."

"Hm. Well if you gotta go, you gotta go!" he exclaimed, unzipping his jeans.

Everyone else heard this and shot their glances back in his direction, shocked.

"Oh my God, put that THING away!" Mickie snapped, covering her eyes.

"Yeah, you're not taking a piss in here man, that's just wrong!" Jeff agreed.

"Stop speaking! Or else my little stiffy will flatline, if ya know what I mean." Punk chuckled.

"Damn it, you dipshit, if you whip that thing out, I'm going to kick your ass!" he continued, getting pissed. "Look, you're scaring her!" he pointed towards Maria. Maria peeked out from under her hoodie to watch the scene. "EEP!" she squeaked again in reply.

Punk gasped, pretending to be afraid. "Ooh! You're pretty sexy when you're angry!" he smirked and growled. "And Jeff, I'm speaking to you."

The rainbow haired teen looked disturbed for a moment before turning back to his sketchbook.

Since Punk was on such a roll lately, he turned his attention to Chris. "Hey, homeboy!"

Chris slowly turned around, confused. "You talking to me?"

"Yeah. Why don't you close that door over here and you, me, and the other guys can get the cheerleader - impregnated!" Punk lit up, turning his attention back to Velvet.

She gasped. "How dare you!"

"Come on, man, leave her alone." Sabin told him.

"Seriously, dude, what is your problem?" Alex spoke up, turning to Punk.

"Oh, what are you talking about?" he asked. "I'm just trying to have a little fun here."

"Well, nobody here cares about your fun! What you need to do is to shut the hell up!" Velvet snapped back.

"You go, blondie." Mickie cheered her on.

"Oh, the cheerleader has spoken!" Punk cried sarcastically. "And who asked you to say anything, cupcake?" he turned to Mickie.

"I believe that I can say whatever the hell I want to, jerkoff." the brunette replied.

"Well hey, Miss Attitude! While you're so riled up, why don't you tell us what you did to get in here. Got too pissed for being too short to reach the lunch line?"

"LISTEN, you bastardizing little-" she began.

"Uh, guys, maybe we should just calm down and write our papers before Cole comes back in here." AJ spoke up.

But Mickie ignored her and continued to Punk, "You bastardizing little prick. Just because you happen to live here in detention, doesn't give you the right to be a pain in the ass, so cut it out!" she snapped.

"Don't scrutinize me, I got freedom of speech..." Punk muttered.

"Hey, he's just doing it to annoy you! Just ignore him." Velvet told Mickie.

"Oh please, hot stuff! You couldn't ignore me if you tried!" Punk called back.

The cheerleader rolled her eyes.

"Sooo...Cinnamon Buns, Pinky...you guys boyfriend and girlfriend?" CM asked Chris and Velvet.

They glanced at one another and both shook their heads, trying their best to ignore him.

"Dating?...Lovers...?" he continued.

No reply.

"Come on, Cinnamon, just tell me straight out. Did you screw her yet?" Punk asked.

Furious, Chris and Velvet whipped around to face him.

"SCREW YOU!" Velvet snapped.

"Yeah, just shut the hell up, why don'tcha!" Chris agreed, pissed.

In Cole's office, he heard all the screaming. "Hey, what the hell's going on in there?" he demanded. "Smug little bastards..." he muttered to himself.

Back in the library...

The three continued staring bullets through one another until Chris turned back around first. "Douchebag." he muttered.

Punk didn't hear this and then walked over to the stair railing, sitting over it. He eyed down AJ, when she quickly looked up at him and back down at her paper.

"Hey, cutie. Why don't you close that door over there. We can't have any fun with Cole popping in and out of here every 5 seconds." he told her.

"Uh, I-I don't know if I can do that." she uttered. "I think that the door's supposed to stay open..."

"So what?" Punk asked back. "Are you afraid that you'll get in..._trouble_?" he mocked.

"Hey, why don't you just shut up like everyone else in here's been trying to tell you?" demanded Alex, to AJ's defense. "There's seven other people in here who don't want to put up with your lip any longer."

"Wow, mohawk, you can count!" Punk said sarcastically. "I'm surprised that you're still even involved in this conversation, you little Axl Rose knockoff."

AJ gave Punk a dirty look when Alex chuckled lightly and slammed down his pencil. "Look, I'm trying to be nice to you, but you're making it hard for me. Just who the hell are you to judge anyone anyway?" Shelley demanded.

"Seriously..." agreed Velvet.

"Are you finished?" asked CM.

"No. You know, Punk, you don't even matter here. I mean, like, if you had disappeared for some reason, nobody in here would give a damn." Shelley continued.

For once, Punk was silent for a moment, feeling upset on the inside, but he refused to show weakness on the outside. It would ruin his tough-guy image. Finally, he had a comeback by saying, "Fine, then you know what? Why don't I just go and join the marching band?"

Chris and Velvet looked at once another and laughed at him.

Punk turned to Velvet. "Maybe the Prep club, too!" To AJ: "The Anime club!" To Jeff: "The Art club!" To Chris: "How about the Academic club?" And to Maria: "And how about the club for Emo's while I'm at it!"

"HMM!" Maria mumbled, still peeking out from under her hood.

"No, Punk, that wouldn't work, because none of those clubs would accept you." Chris replied.

"Ouch."

"You know something? Guys like you only piss other people off because they're just afraid." Mickie spoke up.

"Oh, wow, I am sorry!" Punk said sarcastically. "Gosh, you rich girls are so smart, that's why I don't even participate in extracurricular activities because I'm just...not...good enough!"

"Look, for your information, I'm not rich. I'm what you call middle class, which is a step up from where it looks like you came from." Mickie snapped back.

Jeff chuckled at this. "Burn."

"Ok, you may not be rich, but look at Pinky over there with her Juicy Couture bag! If that doesn't scream 'Trust Fund', then I don't know what does."

Velvet snapped back, "Look, you only keep bugging me because you're just a big, fat, coward!"

"There's nothing wrong with the Anime club..." AJ mumbled to herself.

"You are a coward because no club here would ever want to take you. Since you don't belong, you have to bag on everyone else just to give yourself a cheap thrill." Velvet continued.

"Well, maybe it wouldn't have anything to do with you club people being complete douchebags, now would it?" Punk asked back.

"You don't even know any of us man, how could you even say that?" Jeff demanded.

"First Amendment, dude, I can say whatever the hell I WANT to..." Punk turned back to him.

"Look, let's all just keep ignoring Punk and mind our own business before Cole comes back in here. I have band rehearsal today, and the sooner I get outta here, the better." Alex announced.

The rebel approached him. "Oh, am I keeping you from your band? I apologize, I truly do." he said with fake sympathy.

"Punk, why don't you do us all a favor and stop being such a bully to everyone?" AJ really spoke up for the first time.

He looked back at her and let out a chuckle. "Look, cutie, this is none of your business. Just get back to your little," he picked up a few of her comics. "Ooh, Green Lantern, Batman, good stuff here. Mind if I borrow these?" he asked.

"No, give them back, they're rare copies!" she cried.

"Give her back the comics!" Alex cried, snatching them back from him and giving them back to AJ.

"Thanks." she told him.

"No prob. Just keep these in a safe place and don't let him get to you." Shelley replied.

But before Punk could say or do anything, they all heard Cole approaching the room. CM quickly found the first seat he could find, and it just happened to be in between Velvet and Chris. They narrowed their eyes and glanced towards him. Cole on the other hand, paid them no attention as he headed back into his office for a second, and then back out into the hallway, giving Punk his cue to get back up and walk around the room.

Jeff looked up from his drawing and said, "Dude, don't get any ideas, ok?"

He whipped around and pointed back at him. In a stern voice, he replied, "Young man, have you finished writing your paper?"

"...Up yours." Hardy muttered back.

Meanwhile, Maria slowly crept towards Jeff to see what he was drawing, her head poking out from under her hood. He saw how she was leaning over to see over his sketchpad, where he smirked and hid it from her. "Trying to see what I'm drawing?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Well, uh, I usually don't reveal anything I make until it's finished. Think you could wait a little longer?"

"Kaykay!" she nodded before hiding under her hood once again. Yep, she was definitely a weird one, but Jeff didn't have a problem with that. In fact...he was glad that she decided to sit with him.


	3. Principal Douchebag

**Chapter 3**

Meanwhile, Punk headed towards the door closest to Cole's office, where he removed a screw from the door.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Mickie.

"Getting 25 to life in prison one day, I hope." Chris muttered.

Velvet giggled.

In the hall, Cole was getting a drink from the fountain, and then checked himself out in a nearby mirror. He TRIED to convince himself that he wasn't a complete failure, but it wasn't working. "Yeah, look at you, Coleminer! Who's a good boy, WHO'S a good boy, _WHO'S_ a good boy?" he cried, admiring himself.

Back in the library, AJ looked up to find Punk still messing with the door.

"Punk, that's school property! It doesn't belong to us, you can't just mess around with it like that." she told him.

After that, the door slammed shut and Punk laughed, running back to his seat next to Mickie.

"Oh you got jokes now, but come on, fix the door!" Alex argued.

"Right now!" agreed Mickie.

"Am I a genius?" CM asked.

"No, you're an ass!" Chris snapped back.

"HA HA!" Punk laughed mockingly. "Tell me something that I don't know!"

"Dude, just fix the damn door, it's not that hard!" Jeff chimed in.

"Oh, everyone just be quiet for a sec!" the rebel snapped.

Meanwhile, Cole was headed back to his office, but stopped once he heard voices and saw the door closed.

Punk's voice from the other side cried, _"I've been here hundreds of times before, I know what I'm doing!"_

Alex replied, _"I don't care, now you ruined the door in the first place, so get your ass up and fix it!"_

Punk shouted back, _"Oh, shut up!"_

"God damnit!" Cole snapped, opening the door and storming into the library. "Why is that door closed?" he demanded.

Everyone just stared back at him.

"Answer me!"

"How the hell are we supposed to know? You told us not to move, right?" asked Punk.

He knew that he couldn't trust Punk, so he turned to Velvet. "Why?" he asked.

"Sir, we were just sitting here the entire time, ok? Don't ask me." she asked, popping her gum.

Next, he turned back to Punk. "Who closed that door?"

"Why are you looking at ME? Honestly, I think that a screw just fell out of it." he replied.

"Yeah, sir, it just closed on its own." added Sabin.

Cole turned to Maria in the back. "Hey, you in the back, Grim Reaper! Who did this?" he demanded.

Her feelings were hurt, so she let out a squeak and slammed her face back onto the table, hiding under her hood once again.

Jeff sympathetically patted her on the back and told Cole, "You hurt her feelings!"

"Yeah, she doesn't talk much, sir." Punk added.

"Oh, Mr. Brooks, I know you had something to do with this. Give me the screw." he announced.

"What screw?" he asked back.

"Look, BUB, I will yank you out of that seat and shake it out of you!"

"Look, COLE, I do not have it. Look, screws fall out of places all the time, hell, the screw in your head fell out the day that you were born and the world's an imperfect place because of it."

Cole tried not to get angry and kept his cool. "Give it to me, Punk." he said slowly.

"Sir, why would anyone even want to steal a screw?" asked Mickie.

"Hey, watch it, young lady!" Cole snapped back. "You want something taken care of, you gotta do it yourself..." he mumbled, going back to the door. One of his 'bright ideas' included him using a folding chair to hold the door open.

"Oh, the door's way too heavy for that flimsy little thing, sir." Punk spoke up.

Cole ignored him and placed the chair there anyway. He grinned evilly towards the students, but despite the chair being there, the door slammed right in his face.

_"DAMN IT!"_ he called from the other side.

The teens laughed. Wow, what a failure of a man.

An angry Cole stumbled up and opened the door again, entering the room. "You, Chris Sabin, get up here and help me with this!" he called.

He shrugged and got up.

"Hey. Hey, why does Chris get to get up?" Punk demanded. "This is a travesty! If he gets up, we'll ALL get up! It'll be divine justice!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jeff asked, raising an eyebrow.

Punk was ignored while Cole and Chris were attempting to move a steel magazine rack in front of the door. "Hey, hey, watch the magazines!" Cole cried.

"Sorry!" snapped Chris.

"That's wise, sir, but what if there was a fire? Isn't violating fire codes and endangering the lives of children pretty unruly at this point in your failing career, sir?" asked CM. "Besides, you wouldn't want to get laid off now, I mean, you'd never be able to find another job in this economy."

Cole thought for a moment, thinking that what Punk said was actually very true. "Gosh darn it, Sabin, what the hell are you doing with this magazine rack? Get this outta here for God's sakes! What's the matter with you, you're endangering the lives of children!" he snapped.

"What?" he demanded, shocked. "It was YOUR idea!"

"Sit down!" he snapped.

"Um, doesn't the school come equipped with fire exits at both ends of the library?" asked AJ.

Cole shot her a look.

"Hey, let's show Douchebag some respect!" Punk smirked at her, gesturing to Cole.

"I would expect more from a Varsity star like you, Sabin." Cole told him. Then he turned to Punk. "Now as for you, PUNK! The next screw that falls out will be YOU!" he cried before he turned to leave.

"Bite me." Punk muttered to himself.

He whipped around.

"What was that?"

He stood up and repeated, "BITE...ME." before sitting back down.

"Well, congratulations, Punk, you just brought yourself another Saturday detention, mister!"

"Hoo rah." he muttered.

"You just brought one MORE right there!"

"Hey guess what? I'm free the next THREE Saturdays after that, but beyond that, I'll have to check my calendar!" CM snapped back.

"Good! Cause that calendar's gonna be filled, we'll keep going! You want another one, just say another word! Instead of going to jail, guess where you're gonna end up? HERE! Are you through with the back talk now?"

"No!" Punk cried.

"I am doing the world a favor by getting rid of you!"

"Getting rid of YOUR moron ass would do the world a huge favor!" he spat back.

"That's ANOTHER one right now! I have you penciled in for the rest of your life if you don't watch your mouth! You want another one?"

"YES, I DO!" he shouted.

"All right, you got it! That's another one, buddy!"

"Stop it!" Velvet chimed in, turning to Punk.

"You through?" Cole demanded.

"Not until your hairline disappears completely, bud!" Punk argued.

"GOOD! You got one more right there!"

"Do you really think I could give two shits?" he asked.

"ANOTHER!"

CM glared at him.

"You through?

"Depends. How many do I have?"

"Seven including the one when we first came in and you told Mr. Cole that his dad's condom was a fail, and all that junk." announced Alex. "I kept count for ya."

Cole turned to Punk and said, "Now it's eight!" and then told Alex, "And YOU stay out of it!"

"Excuse me sir, but it's seven!" Shelley pleaded.

"Shut up, rooster hair!" he snapped.

"Hurtful." he muttered.

Cole turned back to Punk. "You are mine, Brooks...for TWO months! I gotcha! I GOTCHA!" he cheered as if he had won the lottery.

"This is gonna be the GREATEST two months of my life, sir!" Punk cheered sarcastically.

"Oh, I'm sure that's exactly what you want your little friends here to believe. But you know something, Brooks? You need to spend a little more time trying to make something of yourself and a little less time trying to show off to people. You'll be better off. Now everyone else, that's it! I will be right outside those doors. And the next time I have to come in here...somebody's getting a pop in the chops!" he tried to act tough. Before he left, he mouthed one more time, 'Pop in the chops!'

Once he finally left and closed the door behind him, Punk reached his boiling point and tossed his chair aside, screaming, "FUCK YOU!"


	4. How to Kill Boredom, starring CM Punk

**Chapter 4**

Not much time has passed by, since the clock now read 7:45 am, and the kids were bored as hell.

Punk was at his table playing with his lighter. Now by no means was he a smoker, but he had the lighter because fire interested him for some reason. He was trying to kill time by using the lighter to light his shoe on fire.

On the other end of the same table, Mickie had her eyes glued to the clock while she cracked her knuckles.

Velvet was up front, reapplying her lip gloss.

Chris mindlessly played with the strings on his hoodie.

Alex was humming another tune.

AJ read through her comic books.

Jeff was still busy sketching.

Maria chewed a strand of her hair.

Moments later...

Punk slipped off his shoe and beat it, trying to put the flames out.

Maria kept trying to peek at Jeff and his drawing.

Alex played some air guitar.

Chris played a game of some paper football and cheered for himself for scoring an imaginary goal.

Later AGAIN...

The boredom took over completely, as everyone fell asleep, slumped over their desks.

Cole entered the room and stared at the sleeping kids.

"WAKE UP! Who has to take a pee break?" he asked.

Without looking up, everyone's hands immediately shot up. Alex fell back in his chair.

Hours flew by, and it was only 10:22 am. Chris was busy stretching from his nap, while Punk was busy tearing pages from out of a book.

"What did that book ever do to you, Punk?" asked Sabin.

"I dunno..." he asked blankly. "Guess it's wrong to destroy literature, huh?" He looked at the cover. "Boy, that Lord Beeron really turns me on!" he cried sarcastically.

"Lord BYRON." Mickie corrected him.

"Oh, I love his work. He has some deep stuff." Jeff announced.

"So why am I in a room with a bunch of fruitcakes?" Punk asked, tossing the rest of the papers away. "Besides, what's the deal? There's nothing to do here when you're locked in a brothel like this one."

"Speak for yourself." Chris muttered back.

"Why would I want to speak for you? I don't even know what you're talking about half of the time!"

Sabin ignored him and turned to Velvet. "Hey, so are you grounded tonight for being here?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I dunno, my mom told me that I was, but my dad told me to just ignore her."

"Well, I heard that Randy Orton was throwing a big party, and since his parents are going to be in Europe, things should be pretty crazy." replied Chris.

"Oh yeah?" she asked, interested.

"Yep. Think you could go? I-I mean, I don't have anything better to do that night and I could pick you up and drive you there."

"Thanks, Chris, but I doubt it."

"How come?"

"Well...it's weird, you wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"Ok, well, if I do what my mother tells me NOT to do, it's only because my dad says it's ok for me to do so. I'm just the one always caught between their bullshit and I'm just sick and tired of it. They might as well get their divorce and end it already." the blonde announced, shaking her head.

"So who do you like better, your ma or your old man?" asked Punk.

"Well, considering the fact that neither one of them gives a shit about me, I'd live with my sister. She's the only one that understands that our folks only use me to get back at one another."

"HA!" Maria cried from the back.

Everyone whipped around to look at her, shocked at this random outburst.

The redhead blew her hair from out of her eyes and grinned.

"Shut up!" Velvet snapped at her.

"Now, now, I'm sure she had a good reason for that little...outburst." Jeff tried to defend Maria.

"Anyway, don't feel so sorry for yourself. What's going on with your folks isn't your fault." Chris told Velvet.

"But if I didn't, nobody else would." she shrugged.

He didn't know how she'd react, so he reluctantly put his hand on her shoulder and smiled a little. "You're breaking my heart, Vel." he joked.

She didn't pull away to his surprise, and she smiled a little back towards him. "I'm a cheerleader. I break a lot of hearts." she smirked back.

"Well, while we're on the topic of parenthood, why don't we go around the room. Starting with little mouthy princess here." Punk announced, approaching Mickie.

"Just what the hell do you want, Punk?" she demanded.

"Do you get along with your parents?" he asked.

"Well, if I say yes, does that make me an idiot?"

"I'm just saying! If you say that you are getting along with your folks, that just makes you a liar, too!" he smirked, strutting off.

Mickie growled, got up, followed him, and shoved him. "You know something, bub, if we weren't in school right now, I'd destroy you."

As a reply, Punk stuck his middle finger towards the floor. "See this? Want me to turn this finger the right way up? I'm not afraid to flip off a girl. Especially one as gorgeous as you."

"Oh, I'll beat you to the punch." Mickie said, giving him the finger instead! "Get the message." she whispered.

AJ stood up and put a hand on each of their shoulders, trying to keep the peace. "Guys, let's settle down, ok?" she asked.

Mickie whipped away and headed back to her seat.

"It's not so much of a thrill living with my folks, either. I don't...I just don't like the way they handle things with me, y'know?" she continued shyly.

Punk turned to her. "Cutie."

"Yeah?"

"You have got to be a parent's dream, aren't you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, confused.

"Punk, will you just knock it off?" demanded Alex.

He ignored him and continued looking her down. "Hey, I can see you getting pissed with your folks for making you wear what you're wearing now. See your midriff isn't even showing! What's up with that?"

"Excuse me, I picked out these clothes. I would rather not look like a slut, if that's where you're going." AJ said sternly.

"Just face it, cutie, with the comic books and the converses, you're a geek." Punk announced.

"Damn it, assmunch, why the hell do you have to go on and insult everyone?" Alex snapped, standing up. "Leave her alone!"

"It's called being honest, thank you very much! I'd expect you to know the difference!" CM snapped.

"Well stop talking to her like that! She's got a name!"

"Oh, really?"

"YEAH, really!" Shelley said, turning to her. "What's your name?"

"AJ." she announced.

"Well, it's nice to formally meet you, AJ, I'm Alex." he greeted, shaking her hand.

Punk approached them. "So your folks named you after a boy? My condolences..."

She gasped. "NO! They're called initials, they stand for April Jeanette!"

"Again. I apologize."

She was about to go after him, but Alex held her back. "No, he's not worth it!" he cried.

Then, Velvet asked Punk, "So, I know that Punk is not your real name, so what is? Since you're so nosy towards everyone else."

"What's yours?" he asked back. "Since Velvet is more like a porn star's name."

She reeled for a moment. "For your information, my real name is Jamie, ok?"

"Jamie?" Punk repeated, surprised.

"Yes, Jamie! Is that a problem?"

"I don't know, but it just doesn't suit you. As a matter of fact, my male cousin's name is Jamie, now how about that?"

She shook her head and gave him the finger.

"Oh! Wow, that's the second time a girl's given me the finger, I really must be pissing people off today!" CM cried, proud of himself. "But you seem like such a...nice, wholesome girl. Tell me, Velvet. Are you a virgin?"

Shocked, she just looked at him.

"Come on, you're the head cheerleader, aren't ya? I know that you are!"

"You need to shut up." she said quietly.

"Ever kissed a boy? Ever have a guy feel you up and touch you in all the right places, hoping that mommy and daddy doesn't walk in?"

"Get away from me."

"But being the most popular girl in school, I bet you've done this a lot. In the car, in the bathrooms, hell, maybe even in the storage closet!" Punk continued.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!" Chris shouted, having enough of this.

Punk slowly stood up and turned to him.

"Leave her alone, I said." he repeated.

"You gonna do something about it if I don't?" the rebel asked.

"Maybe I will." Sabin replied.

They faced each other.

"You, and how many of your friends?" Punk demanded.

"I'll help!" Alex spoke up.

"No thanks, Alex. This is between me and him." Sabin replied, not taking his eyes off of Punk. "There will be two hits. Me hitting you, and you hitting the floor. Bring it!"

"Ok, Varsity, if that's what you want..." he began before throwing a punch towards him, but Chris ducked and took him down with a wrestling move to the ground.

"Look, I don't want to do this with you, dude..." Punk grunted.

Chris got up. "Why not, you coward?"

"Because to tell you the truth, I'd kill ya. It's simple. I'd kill ya, your folks would sue me for it, and it'd be too big of a mess for me since I don't even care enough about you to bother with it."

"Crazy ass..." he muttered, turning and heading back to his seat. Punk whipped out a small switchblade and opened it, before stabbing the switchblade into a nearby chair.

The others looked back at him, silent.

"Look, man, let's end this before things get worse. You don't talk to Velvet, you don't look at her, and you don't think about her! Understand?" Chris demanded.

"Hey, I'm just trying to help her!" Punk snapped back. "I'm trying to make her see the reality of life!"

Meanwhile, Maria saw the switchblade in the chair and snatched it. "Shiny..." she uttered, running a finger across it.

Everyone turned their attention to her once again.

"Guys, just be used to it by now. That's just how she is." Jeff spoke for her, smiling while he looked at her.


	5. Freaks Unite!

**Chapter 5**

The time was going awfully slow. Now, it was only 11:30, and Cole left his office for a few moments. The kids were bored as hell again, so Alex began whistling another familiar tune - 'Don't Worry, Be Happy'. AJ began whistling along, then Jeff, then Chris, then Velvet, then Mickie, Punk shrugged and whistled along for the hell of it, and Maria tried to whistle along, too.

Moments later, Cole walked into the room and Alex suddenly began whistling the funeral march song just to piss Cole off.

"Ha ha. Okay, ladies, you have 30 minutes for lunch." he announced.

"Here?" asked Jeff.

"Yeah, here."

"Well, I think that the cafeteria would be a better place for us to have lunch in, sir." he replied.

"Well, I don't CARE what you think, Hardy!" Cole snapped.

He scoffed, insulted. "Well!"

"Uh, Principal Douchbag-er, Cole? Will we get milk?" asked Punk.

"Yeah, we're really thirsty, sir." added Chris.

"I really cannot get dehydrated." added Velvet.

"And I've seen her dehydrated, sir, it's not a pretty sight." agreed Mickie.

Punk stood up. "You know what, I'll go and get it. I've been such a pain in the ass to all of you lately, I might as well go-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow your roll there, bub!" Cole cried.

He smiled.

"Do you think that I'm stupid?"

"Y-"

"Don't answer that. Do you think that I'm going to have YOU of all people roaming around the halls?" he continued, before pointing at Jeff. "You!"

And then pointed at Maria, who still wasn't facing anyone. "And you!"

No reply.

"HEY! Grim Reaper! What's her name? Wake her up!"

Jeff nudged her and she looked up.

"Come on, get up, missy! This is no funeral home!" Cole continued. "There's a soda machine in the teacher's lounge. Move, move, MOVE!"

"ALL RIGHT! Jeez..." Jeff muttered, as he grabbed his sketchbook and Maria grabbed her purse, heading off.

* * *

In the halls, Jeff casually strolled down towards the vending machine, while Maria decided to hop along with him for some reason.

"Step, step, step, step, step, step, step..." she exclaimed with each hop.

"Uh, so why are you saying that if you're actually hopping instead of stepping?" he asked, with a confused chuckle.

"I dunno." she replied. "It's cause I'm a weirdo."

He looked at her, pondered for a moment, and then shook his head. "Nah, I don't think you're a weirdo."

"HA!" she randomly cried out again.

The Enigma couldn't help but to laugh. "What? What'd I say?" he smiled.

"Just look at me!" she cried, stopping in her tracks. "I'm a freak with fire engine red hair, I have random moments of strangeness, and look at how I'm dressed! Cole called me the Grim Reaper for goodness' sake! Everyone else in there thinks that I'm a lunatic, which I'm really not too bothered by to be honest, but why wouldn't you, too?"

"Well, you look at ME!" he exclaimed, gesturing to himself. "What other guys in this school have you seen that looks like me? I'm a freak with different colored hair every day of the week, I ENJOY painting my nails to match, and although I get along with everyone, I PREFER to hang out alone, by choice."

Maria looked at him, intrigued.

"So you may not see it, but you and I have a lot more in common than you think." he finished.

"What's your name?" she asked from out of the blue.

"What's yours?" he asked back.

"Why are you here?" she asked back.

"Why are YOU here?" he asked in return.

She poked him.

He poked her back.

Then, they just stood there, staring at one another.

"Maria, and I'm not telling why I'm here." she answered finally.

"I'm Jeff, and I'm here today cause...I needed to get away from home."

"That's not a reason to be here." the redhead replied matter-of-factly.

"Do YOU have a reason to be here?" he asked.

She blinked. "...Who needs a reason to be anywhere?" she asked hypothetically. "Think about that."

He did indeed think that over and nodded thoughtfully, gazing at her. "Why is it that we have the weight of the world on our shoulders but we have to get it off our chests?" he asked back. "Think about that."

She gazed back at him, stunned. "I...I will." she nodded.

"Good." he nodded back, serious.

Silence.

"So where's that vending machine, I wanna soda!" she exclaimed cheerfully.

"Me, too, I hope they have orange!" he agreed, heading off with her. As they headed down the hall, Maria continued, "Who loves orange soda?"

"Jeff loves orange soda!" he exclaimed.

"Is it true?"

"Mm hmm, I do, I do, I doooo-oooo!" he cheered before they both bursted out laughing.

* * *

Meanwhile, back in the library, the rest of the gang were hanging around and waiting for their drinks.

Punk was reading through a book of diseases and laughed out loud. "Oh, my God!"

"Whatever it is, none of us are interested." Mickie said flatly, reading through another book.

He ignored that comment and sat next to her. "Mickie, - that's your name, right? - Anyhoo, wanna see a picture of a dude with elephantitus of the nads?" he exclaimed. "How cool is this?"

"Uh, I'd rather not, thanks." she said flatly.

He thrusted the page in her face. "LOOK AT IT!" he cried.

"UGH! That's gross!" she cried.

"No kidding! Imagine the pain this dude would go through if he were skateboarding, slipped off of the rail and landed right in the kiwis! Utter fuckery." he chuckled.

The brunette rolled her eyes. "That's repulsive, dude."

"Aw, come on, Mickie. Would you ever consider dating a guy like this?" he asked.

"Would you ever consider leaving me alone?" she asked with sarcastic excitement.

"No!" he continued smiling. "But really, if he was a cool guy, knew all the right things to say, and had a cool car...but then again, you might have to sit in the back since his nuts would be riding shotgun with him."

She stifled a laugh.

"Hey, did I catch a smile from outta you?" Punk asked, curious. "Love the nut jokes, huh?"

"Screw you." she muttered, trying to hide her smile and turning back to her book.

"Wow, Mickie, not too long ago you were picking a fight with the guy and now you're laughing at his jokes?" Alex asked, joining her along with AJ. "What's up with that?"

"Whoa, whoa. For one thing, I was NOT laughing at any of his so called 'jokes'! I was about to sneeze and that's why it LOOKED like I was stifling laughter." she answered. "I'll never want to associate myself with a prick like him."

"I can HEAR yoooou!" Punk called.

"Nobody cares about yoooou!" she called back.

"Um, Mickie? I-I'd hate to admit it, but I've noticed that you and Punk actually have a lot in common." AJ spoke up, twiddling her fingers.

"Heh. Excuse me?" she asked, shocked.

"Well, come on, I mean you're known for beating up people who so much as look at you the wrong way, he's known for being a well known criminal, you both are picking fights with one another, share the same sense of sarcasm, need I go on?" she asked.

The brunette sighed. "Look. Now although you and Alex here are all buddy buddy, don't assume the same about me and Punk. I cannot stand him, he cannot stand me, and that's the natural order of things. Ok?" she asked.

"Okayyy..." AJ began.

"Yeah, but when you two suddenly end up making out all by the Young Adult Section, don't come crying to us!" Alex smirked, leading AJ away. "Now whaddya say we play another round of Pokemon cards, April!"

"Yay!" she cheered.

"...Wow." Punk shook his head, chuckling. "Look at the circus I'm trapped in." Then, he noticed Chris and Velvet chatting with one another at their desk. He said something to her which in return, made her laugh out loud. CM on the other hand, targeted them again. "Chris and Velvet sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" he sang.

Sabin and Sky slowly turned around to glare at him, both equally annoyed.

"For the 5,678th time, will you PLEASE leave us alone?" Velvet demanded.

"Why? C'mon, are you SURE that you two aren't sleeping together? You can tell ol' Punky, he won't tell a soul! Well, actually I will, but you can still confide in me!" he exclaimed.

"Punk, did I not tell you earlier that I want you to stay away from her? Don't look at her, talk to her-" Chris began.

"Think about her, blah blah. Hell, you probably don't want to even tell me because you're just afraid to tell her that you're a *gasps* _virgin!_"

He grew silent.

"Is it true, Chris? Is the Varsity letterman, the Captain of the mathletes, the member of the academic club, the co-captain of the wrestling team, the national honor society, and any other God-given club there is here, a virgin?" Punk repeated with a twisted smile.

"Truthfully, I don't think this is any of your damn business. You're just jealous that I've accomplished more in the four years that I've been here than you ever will in your entire life." Chris smirked, crossing his arms.

"You go, Sabin." Velvet cheered him on, sending a 'Take that!' look towards Punk.

The rebel scowled and turned back to his book before tossing it away.

"Hey, Chris?" she asked.

"Yeah?"

"It was really sweet of you how you stood up for me like that. I mean, we barely know each other and you've been so...so sickeningly sweet!" the blonde replied.

He chuckled. "Hey, you're the hottest cheerleader in the school, aren't I supposed to be the perfect gentleman?" he asked. "And me being the overachiever, I AM perfect in every way."

She giggled. "You arrogant bastard." she smiled. "And besides. Even if you were still a virgin, I think it's a nice thing."

He didn't know how to reply, so he blushed a little and let out a nervous chuckle.


	6. The Disaster Cafe

**_AN: Hey, peeps, time for another chappie. What I'm going to do from now on is update the story daily (Monday-Friday), just so ya know. _  
**

* * *

**Chapter 6 **

Later that day, the kids finally received their lunches.

Mickie took hers out of a small bag, when Punk curiously looked at her.

"...What?" she demanded.

"What's in the baggy?" he asked.

"None of your business. Where's your lunch?"

"You're wearing it! HEY-O!" he cheered at his own joke.

"You irritate me." she grumbled.

"Hey, who wants the extra grape Fanta?" CM called.

"MEEP!" Maria squeaked from her corner.

He casually tossed it towards her, and she caught the bottle without even looking up.

In the front of the room, Velvet was setting up a sushi platter.

"What's that?" asked Chris.

"This? Oh, it's sushi." she replied.

"_...Sushi?_" Punk asked, surprised.

She grumbled in annoyance upon hearing his voice again. "Yes, Punk, sushi. Rice, raw fish, and seaweed." she clarified.

"So you won't accept a dude's tongue in your mouth, but you'll eat that crap?" he demanded.

"Drop dead!" she snapped.

"So I've been told." he muttered.

Next, Chris looked in his bag and took out a microwavable TV dinner, a bag of chips, an apple, an orange, a bag of cookies, and a quart of soda. He smiled at his feast, but froze once he felt everyone's eyes boring into him, stunned.

The gang looked at their meager lunches before looking back at him.

"...It's MINE!" he complained, shielding his lunch.

At the back table, Jeff was minding his own business when he turned to see Maria take out a container from her bag, and when she opened it, it revealed to have pancakes still inside. She licked her lips in reply.

"Ria...how'd you manage to bring those here?" he asked.

"I dunno. You can have them if you want."

"Why? I don't want you to be left with nothing."

"Oh, I have something! I only got the pancakes because they came with a free bottle of syrup!" she announced, taking out a rather large bottle from her bag.

Jeff really didn't know how to respond to this. "So you're only going to fill up on syrup?"

"Uh huh!" she exclaimed, drinking the stuff from out of the bottle.

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang stared at them, speechless.

"Not just syrup, I have pixie sticks, too!" she exclaimed, taking out about 10 of them.

Keeping his calm demeanor, Jeff shrugged and casually took a couple of pixie sticks and gulped them down, while Maria did the same and continued gulping down her syrup.

The gang continued staring at them.

"MMM!" Maria squeaked, dropping the bottle and hiding under her hood again over her desk.

"What, you people have never seen someone enjoying their lunch before?" Jeff demanded. "Prudes."

Meanwhile, at the table behind Chris's and Velvet's, Alex and AJ took out their lunches at the same time.

"What do you have, Alex?" she asked.

He looked in his bag. "Let me see...oh, crap." he muttered.

"What's wrong?"

He lifted the bag to reveal a gaping hole across the bottom. "Damn it, my puppy must've gotten to it again. That's a bummer." Shelley said, poking his fingers through the bottom.

"Aw, I don't want you to starve. Here, I brought two of these. Have one." AJ smiled, handing him a juice box and a PB&J sandwich.

"Aw, April, thanks a lot!" he smiled, giving her a one armed hug. "I owe you one."

"No prob. Always happy to help a fellow Pokemon/Comic book/Video game lover!" she smiled.

But once again, Punk just HAD to make himself heard again. He approached their table. "And what are we having today?" he asked.

"Go away." AJ muttered, as Alex shot him a look.

"Aww! Apple juice and PB&J with the crusts cut off!" he mocked. "But seriously, April, this is a very nutritious lunch. All the food groups are properly represented. Did your mom marry Mr. Rogers?"

"Come on, man, lay off." Chris spoke up first.

"No, I'm tired of sitting aside here. I'm curious to hear what Punk has to say this time." AJ said, crossing her arms.

"All right! May I present to you, my impression of a day in the life of Princess April's house." he announced, clearing his throat.

In a loud and friendly voice, he called, "Young Lady?" In a kiddie voice, he called, "Yes, daddy?"

Loud: "How was your day, sweetie?

Kiddie: "Great, daddy, how was yours?

Loud: "Swell! Say, princess, how'd you like to go clothes shopping this weekend?

Kiddie: "Great, daddy, but I've got tons of homework to do!

Loud: "That's all right, darling, you can do that homework on the car ride there!

Kiddie: "Oh, yay!

Loud: "Dear, isn't our little princess such an angel?

Quiet and motherly: "Yes, dear, isn't life SWELL?" Punk finished imitating. "Please, hold your applause."

Nobody was in the mood for laughing.

Alex saw that AJ had her head drooped down in shame once again, and he angrily turned to Punk, asking, "Well, big shot, if you think you know so much about her life, then why don't you tell us about your family?"

The tattooed teenager raised his eyebrows. "Oh, MINE?" he asked.

"Tell us how the Almighty Punk lives his pathetic excuse for a life." he nodded.

He said nothing and stood at the back of the room. First, he imitated his father. "Why the hell were you even born, you stupid, worthless, son of a bitch, God damned, useless, freeloading waste of space!"

Then he imitated his mother. "Don't forget disrespectful, ungrateful bastard."

"And this is the part where pop bitch-slaps mama to the ground!" Punk spat with venom in his voice.

Shocked, the others were dead silent.

CM continued imitating his father: "Shut up, bitch! Go make me a sandwich!"

"And then I say: 'But what about you, dad?'"

"And then he says: 'Fuck you!'"

"No, dad answer me, what about you?"

"Fuck you!"

He began yelling. "No dad, WHAT...ABOUT...YOU?"

"FUCK...YOU!" he finished imitating, his chest heaving up and down with tears stinging his eyes. "And usually after that, he likes to finish that off by giving me a nice blackened eye."

Silence.

"Are you serious?" Mickie asked, genuinely concerned.

He turned to her. "Come over to my place sometime and bring your friends as witnesses." he muttered.

"That's bullshit." Chris said, shaking his head. "You expect me to believe any of that? You're just trying to add to your image."

Punk actually looked hurt. "You...don't believe me?" he asked.

"No."

"No?"

"Want me to repeat myself?" Sabin asked.

Next, CM stormed over to his table and rolled up his sleeve, revealing a circular shaped burn on his left arm.

"Ya see this? Ya BELIEVE this? See, come over to my place, and this is exactly what you get when you knock over a vase." Punk hissed, before storming back to the end of the room. "So FRIENDS, this is why I've been acting like a complete asshole to all of you. Because yes, Alex, I DO have a pathetic excuse for a life."

He began to walk away.

"Chris, you shouldn't have said that." Velvet said, shaking her head.

"Well, how was I supposed to know? He lied about everything else!" he cried back.

Before Punk could leave, though, he angrily threw a few books off of the shelves and tossed a table over before letting out a scream.

Mickie decided to stop him. "Punk."

He sharply turned around. "WHAT?" he spat.

"Don't go, all right? We-We didn't know..." she said quietly.

"None of you knew shit about me." he muttered.

"Well look, I for one, am sorry. Nobody deserves to go through what you have to go through. But while you're here, can't you at least be a bit nicer to us so that we'll be nicer to you?" she asked.

He looked at her and then looked at the others. "Hmm. Don't expect me to be much nicer, but...I'll try and ease up on the insults. Maybe." he finally agreed. "Besides, you guys would be bored out of your minds here without me."

"Oh great, the old Punk's back." Jeff groaned.

"That's right, I am! And my first order of business..." he began, approaching Cole's office and peeking into the door so that he wouldn't be seen.

Inside, Cole was enjoying his own lunch, by placing an orange slice in his mouth so that he looked like more of an idiot than he already was. Next, he opened his thermos to pour out his coffee. The lid was jammed, though, and when he finally opened it, coffee spilled out all over his desk. "Oh, shit!" he cursed.

"What a derp." Punk chuckled to himself. Once Cole left the office, though, CM rushed back to the gang. "Oh, guys? While the principal's away...the kids will play." he smirked.

"Oh no, where are you getting to?" asked Chris.

"We're taking a little field trip!" he exclaimed.


	7. Field Trip

**Chapter 7**

In the halls, a disgruntled Cole was mumbling to himself.

"That damn coffee...looks like they scraped it off of the bottom of the damn garbage disposal. Everything's polluted, everything's polluted...the coffee...flapjacks..."

Meanwhile, Punk, Mickie, Chris, Velvet, Alex, AJ, Jeff, and Maria all snuck out of the library, heading through the empty halls.

"How do you know where Cole went?" Mickie asked Punk.

"Heh. I don't."

"Well, how do you know when he'll be back?" she cried.

"Heh. I don't." he repeated. "But isn't it fun to be bad?"

"No." answered AJ.

"Meep." answered Maria.

"What's the point in going to Punk's locker?" Chris whispered to Velvet.

"I don't have a clue." she replied.

"This is pointless. Why the hell are we even doing this, risking ourselves getting caught?" he asked again.

"Beats me." she replied.

"So then what are we doing?" he demanded.

"Damn it, Chris, you ask me one more question and I'm slapping the hell out of you!" the blonde snapped.

"I'm sorry." he said quickly.

Soon after, they approached Punk's...mess of a locker. Mess, meaning that there was graffiti scribbled all over the door, and once he opened it, a scary clown looking jack-in-the-box thing popped out, laughing crazily.

"AAH!" Alex yelped, jumping back. "What the hell IS that thing?"

"Cool, isn't it? I got it for 5 bucks at the swap meet!" he exclaimed.

"Can I have it?" Maria asked.

"No!" he argued. "Now where is it...ah! Here we go."

He took out a crumpled paper bag.

"Are those...drugs?" Chris demanded, shocked.

The others gasped.

"NO! Are you kidding, I would NEVER take drugs! These are Shrooms." he clarified.

"Aren't Shrooms a type of drug?" asked Mickie.

"Not these. They're the high sugar, candy Shrooms." he said, taking out a colorful box from the bag and then quickly slipping it back in.

"Oh!" they smiled, relieved.

"Good, now we gotta get back to the library before Principal Douchebag finds us. C'mon." CM said, walking off.

"Shrooms...the boy has Shrooms." Chris said to himself. "Who would've thought."

Mickie walked after Punk.

"Those were SHROOMS!" Sabin continued.

"Shut up!" the other five snapped before AJ, Alex, and Velvet headed off next.

Chris turned to Jeff and Maria. "Do you approve of this?" Then, he turned and left along with the others, leaving the two alone.

"You stealing that jack in the box, aren't you?" Jeff asked her.

She opened Punk's locker and snatched the creepy clown item. "Yes!" she smiled. "Let's go!"

The gang turned down another hallway.

"Ok, now to get back to the library, we'll cross through the lab and then we'll double back." announced Punk.

"You better be right, because if Cole finds us, it's your fault, asshole!" Velvet hissed.

"What'd he say? Where are we going?" Chris asked, trying to keep up.

_If you don't like the world you're living in_

_Take a look around you_

_At least you got friends_

_You see I called my old lady_

_For a friendly word_

_She picked up the phone_

_Dropped it on the floor_

_(Ah, ah) is all I heard_

As soon as they stepped in a new hall, they caught Cole down the end of it, and right then and there, they high tailed it out of sight.

_Are we gonna let the elevator_

_Bring us down?_

_Oh, no_

_Let's go!_

_Let's go crazy_

_Let's get nuts_

_Let's look for the purple banana_

_'Til they put us in the truck, let's go!_

The gang strolled down another path, but saw Cole walking down and they resumed the chase once again. Maria just looked down Cole's hall, standing there without a care in the world.

_We're all excited_

_But we don't know why_

_Maybe it's cause_

_We're all gonna die_

_And when we do (When we do)_

_What's it all for? (What's it all for?)_

_You better live now_

_Before the grim reaper comes knocking on your door_

Down another hall, the gang was seen speeding away as if they were speeding from an angry drug dealer, while Maria casually leaned against a set of lockers.

Cole strolled down another hall with some pep in his step, and when the gang approached that hall, they immediately caught him, but put on their brakes so quickly that they slipped on the floor and fell on top of one another in a clumsy fashion. The group stumbled back up and sped the other way.

_Tell me, are we gonna let the elevator bring us down?_

_Oh, no_

_Let's go!_

_Let's go crazy_

_Let's get nuts_

_Look for the purple banana_

_'Till they put us in the truck, let's go!_

At this point, they were getting exhausted and jogged wherever they could, while at the same time Cole did a little jig down the freshman wing. They zipped down yet another hall, but once they found Cole taking a drink at the fountain, they whipped around and ran in the opposite direction.

The gang kept running and running.

Cole clicked his heels together, almost tripped, gained his composure again, and went on his merry way. When the gang slithered into a new hallway, Cole missed them by a second.

_I said let's go crazy (Go crazy)_

_Let's go, let's go_

_Go_

_Let's go!_

_Dr. Everything'll be all right_

_Will make everything go wrong_

_Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill_

_Hang tough children_

The teens either slid or zoomed down a staircase, and not far from where they were, Cole strutted down the hollow hallway.

_He's coming..._

_He's coming..._

_Coming..._

_Take me away!_

The group of eight ran for what seemed like forever, but Punk stopped first, saying, "Guys, wait, wait! From where we are now, we have to go through the cafeteria in order to make it back to the library."

"No, the science hall!" announced Alex.

"Hey man, you don't know what you're talking about!" Punk snapped.

"I KNOW THINGS!" Shelley argued back. "You don't know what YOU'RE talking about!"

Maria squeaked. "EEP!"

"Look, we're done listening to you, Punk, we're going my way. Guys, you gotta trust me on this." Alex continued.

"I trust you." AJ nodded.

He flashed her a smile before running off first, followed by AJ, Velvet, Chris, Jeff, Maria, Mickie shrugged towards Punk before running off next, and Punk rolled his eyes, following the gang last.

"See, gang, we are home-" Alex began, before they were stopped into a hall closed by an iron gate.

"...Shit." he cursed.

"Great idea, jackoff!" Punk berated him.

"Fuck you!" he spat back, annoyed.

"Damn it, Shelley, why couldn't you just listen to Punk?" Mickie cut in.

"Since when are you so quick to take HIS side?" he demanded back.

"We're so dead." Velvet announced.

Pause.

"No, just me." Punk replied.

They turned to him.

"What do you mean?" asked Mickie.

"You guys head back to the library, and you keep the Shrooms safe." he replied, stuffing the package into her bra of all places.

She gasped. "Don't violate me!"

"Just hide the Shrooms! Now go, all of you!" he exclaimed before running away, singing loudly, "I WANNA BE THE VERY BEST, LIKE NO ONE EVER WAS..."

Meanwhile, the others just watched him run, dumbfounded.

"He's either really, really brave, or very, very silly." announced AJ.

"He's...indescribable. Now c'mon, let's go!" Mickie cried, leading the pack as they sped off.

In another hall, Cole heard Punk's singing from a distance and grew pissed. "...That son of a bitch!" he snapped. After this, he stormed all over the school, searching for the delinquent.

_"I WILL TRAVEL ACROSS THE LAND, SEARCHING FAR AND WIDE, EACH POKEMON TO UNDERSTAND, THE POWER THAT'S INSIIIIDE!"_

"BROOKS!" Cole shouted, jogging through the place.

Punk happily ran through the halls until he looked back and then quickly slipped into another room. He stuck his head back out and finished, "YOU TEACH ME AND I'LL TEACH YOU, POKEMOOOOON, GOTTA CATCH EM ALL! POKEMON!" Then, he slammed the door behind him.

Not too long afterwards, Cole stopped outside of the gym, where he heard a ball bouncing. He chuckled evilly before heading in to find Punk shooting some hoops.

"He goes left, turns right, swivels around and-OH! Gets the jump shot!" Punk cheered himself as he got a basket.

"Brooks, Brooks, Brooks! What is THIS? What is the meaning of this?" he demanded.

"Hi there!" Punk waved to him.

"GET OUT! Get out, Brooks, playtime is over!" Cole snapped.

"Wait, aren't you even gonna hear my excuse?" CM asked innocently.

"OUT!"

"I'm gonna try out for a basketball scholarship!" he beamed.

"Give me the ball, Brooks."

He looked at the principal, was about to hand it to him, but instead set the ball down and rolled it towards Cole who kicked it back at Punk. It barely missed his head.

"HEY! That's reckless endangerment!" the rebel snapped, pointing an accusing finger at him.

Cole said nothing and grabbed Punk by the collar, dragging him out.

* * *

**_AN: Song in this chappie: "Let's Go Crazy" by Prince. Fun, fun song from the 80s._**


	8. Paying the Cost to be the Boss

**Chapter 8**

Meanwhile, the rest of the gang had made it back to the library with no problem, and were patiently sitting in their seats, right when Cole shoved Punk inside.

"Get your stuff, Punk, let's go!" he snapped at him before turning to the others and saying, "SO, Mister Punk here has taken it upon himself to ignore my rules and play some basketball in the gym. I'm sorry to tell you, but you're going to be removed of his presence for the remainder of the day."

"Oh, POO!" Punk said flatly, crossing his arms.

"Everything just has to be a big joke to you, huh, Brooks? Remember on Friday when you pulled that false alarm? Huh? False alarms are hilarious, huh? Look at it this way. What if your house, your family...what if your Shrooms were on fire?" he asked, trying to rile him up.

"Well, that's impossible, sir. They're in Mickie's bra." CM smirked.

Mickie's eyes widened and she covered her chest for good measure, while Chris chuckled.

Cole turned to him. "You think he's funny? Comedian the Comedian?"

"Uh, what?" Sabin asked, confused.

"Do you think this is cute? You think he's bitchin', that's it, isn't it? Look at the guy, he's a class A bum." he continued, turning to everyone else. "You guys want to see something REAL funny? I dare you all to go visit Phil Brooks in five years at the State Pen! Then you'll see how damned funny he is when he's busy making license plates and serving chili to the other inmates!" Now, he turned back to Punk. "What's the matter, Brooks? You gonna cry? Aw, boo hoo! Let's go." he said, grabbing his shoulder.

Punk snapped away. "You get your fuckin' hands off of me! I expect to see better manners from you, Douchebag!" he spat back.

"GET UP RIGHT NOW!" Cole yelled.

"I heard you the first time." he muttered, getting up. He took out a medallion from his pocket and placed it in front of Mickie. "Got it for $5 at the swap meet, too. Keep it safe, you're the only one I can trust around here." he told her, before he shoved a few objects off of the main library's desk on his way out. Cole followed him out.

Meanwhile, Mickie took a look at the medallion and was confused as to why he would trust her of all people, but at the same time was a little flattered that he had chosen her.

Alex and AJ turned back to see her smiling a little and looking at the medallion, when he whispered to AJ, "If she's falling for Punk, we're taking her to the Nurse's office, because she is one sick puppy."

"Mm hmm!" April nodded along.

* * *

So a few moments later, Cole led Punk to a CLOSET for a little chat...

"That's the final straw, Brooks. That is the final time you make me look like an ass in front of those kids, do you understand me? I make $18,000 a year and I have a studio apartment and I'm NOT about to throw that all away on some bastard child like you! But one day, man, ONE DAY! When you're out of this school and have forgotten about everything and everyone, and they've all forgotten about you and you're trapped in your own little miserable life, haha, I'll be there." he told him with a crazed look in the eye.

Punk raised an eyebrow.

"That's right. And you know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna kick the living shit out of you, boy, I'm gonna start cracking skulls!" he continued, trying to act like a badass. He failed as usual.

CM sighed and crossed his arms, asking, "Is this the part where I'm supposed to care?"

"You better care! So what are you gonna do about it? Do you expect anyone to believe you? You think anyone's gonna listen to your word over MINE? Look, I am a man of dignity. I am a man of respect around here. They all love me around here, I'm a GREAT guy!" Cole continued praising himself.

"Your fly's open." Punk announced.

"You, are a lying sack of SHIT!" Cole snapped, before quickly looking down and zipping up his pants. "And everyone knows it. You think you're a real tough guy, well come on! Come on! Stand up, pal, I wanna see just how tough you are! I'll even let you hit me first! Let's go!" he cried, leaning forward.

The rebel just sat there staring at this mess of a man, with a blank and bored look on his face.

"Ok, please, come on, take a shot! HIT ME!" he resorted to begging. "Come on, just take one shot, that's all I need, one punch in the eye!"

Punk eyed him and then leaned forward, noticing something. Then, without saying a word, he plucked a long hair out of Cole's nose.

"OW!"

"Yeah, I wasn't listening to a word you were saying, that sucker was just hanging out there and I had to get rid of it." Punk flinched, before he wiped his hand over Cole's shirt for good measure. "Don't want your germs on me."

Now, the principal was pissed. "You're a...you're a GUTLESS TURD!" he snapped before leaving, slamming, and locking the door behind him.

Punk chuckled and replied, "I know YOU are, but what am I? HA! HA! HA! Now, if he thinks that he's gonna leave me locked in a closet, the moron's got a whole 'nother thing coming." he said, before climbing up on the machine that he was sitting on, and then climbed up a hatch in the ceiling. From there, he slowly crawled through a heating duct.

"_Daydreaming, head's in the sand...daydreaming, gee, but it's grand...I'm in love with an ostrich, all the neighbors complaining, you see, but she loves me, can't help if they don't understand-" _he began singing quietly to himself, but then felt the ceiling under him crackling. Soon enough, it gave in and Punk fell through.

"Oh, SHIIIIT!" he screamed, crashing somewhere in the back of the library.

Shocked, the rest of the gang whipped around to see where the hell he landed.

"Ha, that was cool." Jeff chuckled.

In the bathroom, Cole heard the loud crash, too. _"Oh, my lord almighty!"_ he shouted from behind his stall.

In the library, Punk brushed himself off and casually joined the gang. "Hi guys, I forgot my pencil." he smiled.

_"Damn it, what the HELL is going on in there?_" Cole demanded from outside of the room.

Punk quickly hid under the first desk he could find, which was underneath Velvet's and Chris's, right when the principal walked in. "What's with the ruckus?" he demanded, looking around.

"What ruckus?" asked Chris.

"I was just in the toilet and I heard a ruckus!"

"Could you describe the ruckus, sir?" asked Jeff.

"Watch your tongue, young man! Watch it!" he snapped back.

Under the table, Punk sat up and banged his head on the bottom surface of the desk. "Ow!" he hissed.

To try and hide Punk being underneath there, Velvet and Chris began tapping their hands over the table to cover him.

"Just drumming along, sir!" Chris smiled nervously.

"No, what is that? What-what IS that noise?" Cole demanded.

Now under the table, Punk turned around so that he could see between Velvet's legs, seeing her panties from under her skirt. He smiled devilishly and put his head between her legs.

"WHAT NOISE?" he continued.

"Seriously, sir, what noise are you talking ab-EEEEEEE!" she squealed, feeling Punk down there. She knocked Punk's head using her knees as punishment.

To cover for her random outburst, the rest of the gang now began a group coughing fit.

"Wha-what noise?" Velvet continued, flustered. "Was THAT the noise you were talking about?"

"No, it was not." Cole said flatly. "Well, I don't know what was. Look, I may not have caught you all in the act this time, but you can bet your asses that I will."

"HA!" Maria laughed at him.

He pointed a finger at her. "You take this seriously, Grim Reaper!" he cried. Then, he turned to Velvet. "And YOU! You will not make a fool out of me!"

Right after that, he turned and headed off, but not without the gang seeing that there was some toilet paper still stuck to the seat of his pants.

The door slammed, followed by silence.

Then, the teens bursted out in laugher. Velvet wasn't amused, though, as she was busy slapping Punk for what he did. "You PERVERT!" she snapped.

He chuckled. "It was an accident, I swear!" he said, getting up.

"You're an ass!" she retorted.

"Sue me for harassment, then." he said, approaching Mickie, who was busy stifling her laugher. "Hmm. You wish it was me lingering between YOUR legs, don't you?" he asked, smiling.

"NO, but it's funny when you did it to her." she said quietly.

"Y'know, I've been making you laugh a lot in the past hour or so. Am I finally getting under your skin, doll face?" the tattooed teenager asked.

"You make my skin crawl, Punk." she answered, smirking.

"You make mine crawl too, babe." he smiled back.

She blushed a little at his usage of the word 'babe', but shook it off. "So, what do you want from me?"

He held out his hand. "Time for the Shrooms. Might as well give em to me before I reach in there and grab em myself."

"You wish." she muttered, taking the package from out of her bra. "Go crazy."

He turned and walked away. "Go crazy with me." he called over his shoulder.

"Mickie, NO!" Alex waved. "Don't cross to the dark side!"

She got up and went after Punk.

"Hey, no getting plastered over Shrooms in here!" Chris called. "Can anyone back me up here?"

Right after that, Alex replied, "Ah, screw it. Chalk one up for peer pressure."

He got up, along with AJ, Jeff, Maria, and Velvet, and followed Punk.

Sabin groaned. "Damn it..." he muttered, joining them.


	9. Shrooms: Bringing People Together

**Chapter 9**

Meanwhile, Cole was going down the stairs, tripped, and landed on his ass. Quickly looking around to make sure that nobody saw him, he brushed himself off and went on his merry way.

Back in the library, the candy Shrooms were taking over...

Punk, Mickie, Velvet, Alex, and AJ were all sitting in a circle, laughing hysterically, while Jeff and Maria watched their peers act like idiots from a corner.

Punk tossed up a Shroom and Mickie caught it in her mouth. She nearly choked on it, but then began a laughing fit. "WHOO!" she cheered, waving her arms in the air.

"GIMME ONE!" Velvet screamed. It was as if the sugary effects of the Shrooms were making them all high. Punk tossed her one, but it hit her nose.

"Heh heh, these chickadees cannot hold their Shrooms, that is the problem!" Alex announced, in a drunken-like voice while he mindlessly tassled AJ's hair. "How you feeling baby, enjoying those Shrooms?"

She swallowed another one and uttered, "...Hung ding...BWAHAHAHAHA!" she bursted out laughing.

"Hey, hey, people?" Velvet demanded, stumbling over the couch. "Do you know how POPULAR I am? I'm so popular that EVERYBODY loves me so much! Even I LOOOOVE me!"

"Aw, poor baby." Punk announced, enjoying watching the gang go absolutely nutso. Alex waved towards her, but fell over right after he stood up.

Meanwhile, in their corner, Jeff just watched the scene, speechless. "I am so glad that I'm not a part of this." he announced, shaking his head.

Maria was still cranking up the scary jack-in-the-box. "Me, too." she smiled, when the scary clown popped out of its box. "YAY!"

Next, another door kicked down and the gang saw Chris emerging from a really smokey room. He tossed another 5 Shrooms into his mouth before announcing, "I'M SO FUCKING HAPPY!"

"YEAH!" the teens cheered along, while he turned on some music.

Next, Alex got up and approached him while Chris approached him. The two smiled and began giggling crazily. "Hee hee hee hee hee..._AAH_!" they cheered, the candy seriously messing with their sanity. Right after that, the two kept laughing and did that silly Carlton dance while the others clapped along.

In the meantime, Mickie was laughing hysterically and fell over Punk's lap, while he smiled, nodded, and rubbed her back. "Deuces."

"Hey look, look...it's Cole's brain!" Velvet announced, opening a book to where a tiny little brain was shown.

The gang laughed.

"No, no this is better!" Punk said, getting up and grabbing a giant paddle from the back of the room. "I'M Douchebag Cole, and I'm a BAAAD mamma jamma..." he cried, running towards Mickie and pretending to spank her with the paddle. "BANG BANG BANG BANG!"

"No, STOP!" she laughed uncontrollably. "Stop!"

"Don't you guys think you're getting a little carried away with those Shrooms?" asked Jeff.

Next, Chris called, "Hey, everybody! RUMBA!" Before anyone could start a conga line with him, he skipped back into the smoking room, slamming the door. A scream of his was heard from the inside, and it was so loud that the glass in the door shattered!

Finally, everyone shut up and looked in his direction.

"...Ok, I think we've all had enough Shrooms." Punk concluded.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cole was in the school basement, chatting to someone...

"Look, uh...this is a highly sensitive area and I, I tell ya something. Other people would be very, very embarrassed and humiliated. I would really appreciate it if, if, if, if...if this would be something that...that you and I could keep between us."

He was talking to a cardboard cutout of Mike 'The Miz' Mizanin. A janitor walked by and gave Cole a dirty look before shaking his head and walking off.

Back in the library...

Everyone was settling down from their Shrooms rush and were just chilling around.

Chris, Alex, and Jeff were chatting about something and laughing, while Maria kept on playing with the jack-in-the-box in her corner.

"I am never having Shrooms again." announced Chris.

"Aw, you were having a blast with yourself and you know it." Alex smirked.

"Well...ok, maybe I was. But don't tell any of the guys about this on Monday, or else I'll be the laughingstock of the school."

He shared a handshake with him. "Done deal, dude." agreed Shelley.

"Wow, from the looks of it, you two seem like brothers and you've only met this morning." announced Jeff.

"I know, right?" agreed Alex. "I like you people, I'm just surprised that we've never run into one another before."

"Same here." agreed Chris. "Maybe this whole Saturday detention thing was good for all of us." he looked back at Punk. "Well, most of us, anyway."

Silence.

"So, what's your middle name?" he asked.

Jeff and Alex looked at him, confused.

"What? I'm trying to find us a topic of conversation!"

"Well, mine's Nero." announced Jeff.

"That's awesome! As for me-" began Alex.

"You don't have a middle name." Maria spoke up, joining the guys.

The guys looked at her, stunned.

"Your birthday is May 23rd, you're 5'10, you weigh 210 lbs and your social security number is 18476292...3." she finished.

Jeff and Chris looked at one another, impressed, while Alex's eyes widened.

"Are you some kind of psychic?" asked Sabin.

"Nooo..." she began.

"Well, I'm a little frightened that you know all of this about me, so would you mind telling me how the hell you found out?" Shelley demanded.

The redhead reached into her bag and took out a wallet. "Stole your wallet. Tee hee."

"WHAT? Give it back!"

She smiled and shook her head. "No!"

"Come on, I mean it, gimme!" he cried.

She sighed and slowly handed it to him, where he snatched it back and looked inside to make sure that nothing was missing.

"Wow, thanks a lot, thief!" he snapped.

"Who are you calling a thief?" she asked back.

"YOU!"

"Relax, there's nothing in there to steal, anyway. Just three bucks and a picture of some naked chick." she shrugged.

"What?" Chris and Jeff exclaimed, intrigued.

"Stop it!" Alex pouted.

"Let me see the naked chick!" Chris exclaimed, looking through the wallet, but when Velvet cleared her throat from behind with a stern look on her face, he chuckled nervously and handed the wallet to Jeff. "More power to you."

Meanwhile, Velvet returned to another couch and sat next to AJ, who was reading a new comic. The cheerleader quietly tapped her knees, looking for something to do, before she turned to take a peek at what AJ was reading. The geek turned to look back at her.

"...Hi." Velvet greeted.

"...Hi." AJ replied.

"So...whatcha reading?"

"Oh, um, just Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I'm a huge fan." she nodded.

"Hey, I've watched that on TV before, I love that show!" the blonde exclaimed.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I was always torn between Spike and Angel. Buffy just looked so sweet with them both!"

"Well, I for one, am a Buffy/Spike shipper. Spike was just such a bad boy and I'm really into bad boys, y'know?" the brunette asked, looking towards Alex with a blush creeping upon her face.

Velvet looked towards Chris and couldn't help but to blush, too. "I'm actually into the sweethearts like Angel. I dunno, he's just so...different and he's the only one who hasn't judged me from the way I look or dress."

"I know what you mean." AJ smiled, still looking in her crush's direction. "But anyhoo, if you like the TV show, you'll love the comics!"

"Really? Could-Could I read it?" Velvet asked, a little surprised.

"Sure!"

Meanwhile, Mickie was looking through Punk's wallet filled with pictures, while Punk was...brushing his teeth with one of Mickie's cosmetic brushes.

The brunette looked up at him. "Make sure to burn it when you're done."

"Will do." he replied, not really paying attention.

"So...are these your many girlfriends?" she asked, flipping through the pictures.

"A few of em."

"How about the others?"

"Well, I look at some of them as my girlfriends and others...I just look at." the rebel shrugged.

"Oh, come on, Punk, really? Don't you just believe in being with one girl and staying with her?" asked Mickie.

"Do you believe in that crock?" he asked back.

"It's not crock! I believe that's the way it should be!"

"Well, not in my case..." he trailed off.

"Why not?"

He looked up at her and refused to answer the question, so instead he changed the subject. "So how come there's so much crap in your purse?"

"How come you have more girlfriends than you can remember?" she asked back.

"I asked first."

"Hmm...guess I just never feel like throwing anything away."

He nodded. "Well, doll face, neither do I." he agreed. "Looks like we have more in common than you thought."

She glanced at him and then shrugged. It was sort of the truth...at least she thought so.


	10. A True Friend

**Chapter 10**

Meanwhile...

Chris and Jeff were still looking through Alex's wallet.

"Is nothing personal?" Shelley grumbled.

"Oh, my God. This is the worst fake ID I've ever seen!" Chris exclaimed, while Jeff laughed. "Look at this: 'Name: Jefferson Steelflex, DOB: 5/23/68' - Do you realize that you made yourself 44 years old?" he demanded.

"Ah, come on, you know that the ladies dig older men!" Alex tried to defend himself.

"Only in your fantasy, dude." he patted him on the back. "I feel sorry for ya in the future."

"Wait, what do you even need a fake ID for, anyway?" asked Jeff.

"Well duh! So I can break into clubs and party my sexy ass off! Plus, my band and I could play a few sweet gigs while we're at it."

"You have a band?" Chris asked, surprised.

"Yeah, we're The High Crusade. I'm on vocals, and my two buddies handle guitar and the drums. Unfortunately, we had a fourth member, but he had to bail on us cause he had an inflamed tongue. Can you believe that?" he demanded.

"Wow. Truly shocking." Jeff said in a deadpan tone.

"Well, uh, along with my other extracurricular activities, I've played a little bass guitar in my spare time. Maybe if you're still looking for another member..." Chris began, hopeful.

"You serious? Yeah, why don't you come over to my place tomorrow and we can hear you jam with us?"

"It's a deal!" he exclaimed, shaking his hand.

Maria joined in the conversation by asking, "Wanna see what's in my bag?"

"No!" Alex and Chris cried at once.

"I do!" Jeff smiled.

"Good." the redhead smiled back, dumping the contents of her purse on the couch, just to spite Chris and Alex. And a TON of stuff fell out.

"Holy shit! What the hell IS all of that?" cried Alex.

"You always carry this much shit in your bag?" asked Chris.

"Yup. Always carry this much shit in my baggie." she replied. "Never know when you'll need to jam..."

"So...are you gonna be like one of those hobo ladies that hang out in alleys and talk to themselves about nothing in particular?" asked Sabin.

"...I will do what I have to do..." she shrugged.

"Well, why would you _have _to do anything?" asked Jeff.

"Because, my life at home...is not all it's perked up to be..."

"So basically, you're saying that you'd rather force yourself to live amongst the violent dangers of the Nebraska streets, just because you're not happy at home?" the Enigma asked back.

"I don't have to run away and live in the streets! I could disappear somewhere and go to the Pacific Ocean, roam free along the country, climb all the mountains of the world, I can go to Europe, Tokyo...Iceland!" she exclaimed, smiling. But then, her smile slowly faded.

Alex and Chris slowly nodded, and then turned to Jeff.

"Yeah, dude, you speak more of her language, maybe you could speak on our behalf?" asked Chris.

Jeff sighed. "Ria, everyone's home lives aren't perfect. If they were, people would live with their folks forever." he reasoned with her.

"But still, I mean, hers goes beyond, y'know, what guys like us consider _normal _imperfect." Alex replied.

Maria shook her head and suddenly began jamming everything back into her purse. "Never mind, forget I said anything, my life is absolutely PERFECT!" she snapped.

"What's your deal?" asked Chris.

"No, forget it! There's no deal, none of you talk to me anymore, all right?" she muttered.

"Ria, hold on!" Jeff stopped her. "You're carrying around all that crap in your purse, so either you really DO want to run away, or you want people to THINK that you want to run away. Which one is it?"

She shut her eyes and whipped around. "Just...none of you talk to me!" she cried, storming away and leaving the boys more confused than ever.

"Mood swings much?" asked Alex.

"Yeah, the girl's her own island, ok? I don't know if we should be dealing with her anymore." agreed Chris.

"Well, I _want_ to deal with her." Jeff begged to differ. Afterwards, he got up and went after her, who was facing a window. "Hi. Wanna talk?"

"No!" she cried, not facing him.

"Look, if something that one of us said back there bothered you..."

"Can...can I just be alone, please?" she asked.

"Maria, you're alone enough as it is. There's something that you're keeping bottled up inside of you, and I just want to help you. You know that you can tell me anything, right?" he asked back.

"I barely know you."

"I barely know you, but I know you well enough that you're just as tortured inside as I am."

The redhead sniffled. "You have problems, you know that?" she asked.

"How do you know about my problems?"

She finally turned around to face him. "You seem to do everything that everyone tells you to do! You seem so...squeaky clean and perfect."

"Oh, Maria, I am far from perfect, ok?" he asked, chuckling. "You can't just judge me like that, especially coming from someone who dumped their purse out on the couch and invited other people into their personal problems, correct me if I'm wrong."

The redhead didn't speak.

"So what's wrong? Is it that bad that you can't even tell me? What, does it have to do with your parents?"

Her hair hung over her face and she bit her lower lip. "...Yes." she said in a tiny voice.

He placed a hand over her shoulder and nodded. "What do they do to you?"

She sniffled again. "They ignore me. It's like I don't even exist..." her voice broke.

"...And it's like you have no choice but to be your own best friend." Jeff finished for her. "I know the feeling."

Her eyes looked into his before she suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a hug, which was a first for her since she rarely ever hugged, much less talked to anyone as much as she had talked to him that day.

He tightly wrapped his arms back around her and held her close, wanting to be the one person to make all of her pain go away. "They always say that it'll be all right, but it's a lie. But even if it won't be all right, I'll still be here for you, Ria. That's a promise." he told her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cole was still in the basement, chatting with his cardboard cutout of the Miz. Heaven knows why he even had that thing.

"I'm trying to make a serious point here! I've been running this school for what, 22 years, and each year, these kids get more and more disrespectful!" he cried.

The cutout just smiled back at him.

Cole continued, "Those brats turned on me...they think that I'm a big fuckin' joke."

No reply.

"Well, you know what? I don't give a rat's ass what those kids think of me! Actually, you think about this...when I get old, these very same kids are gonna be running the country! Now this is the thought that wakes me up every middle of the night! That when I get older, those little bastards are gonna be taking care of ME!" he snapped.

The cardboard cutout fell face first to the floor.

"...Mizzy?" he asked quietly.

* * *

**_AN: Next chapter will be posted on Monday. Have a great weekend, everyone!_**


	11. Confessions, pt 1

**Chapter 11**

Back in the library, the eight teens were sitting in a circle, chatting about anything and everything...

"...What would I do for a million bucks?" Chris repeated the question that was asked by Velvet. "Hmm, not sure."

"Oh come on, Chris, there has to be something!" the blonde exclaimed. "Would you...have a sex change for a million bucks?"

The others laughed while Chris looked around, shocked. "Wha-N-NO!" he cried. "You kidding, no amount of money is worth throwing away my masculinity!"

"What if it was for $1 million and 99 cents?" asked Alex.

He paused. "...Then, I guess you guys are gonna have to start calling me Christina." he revealed.

They laughed again.

"I'd do that, too!" Maria spoke up.

They all turned to her.

"To be honest, I'd do anything sexual, but I wouldn't have to do it for a million bucks." the redhead continued.

"What?" Jeff asked, shocked.

"No, you're lying..." Mickie began.

"I have! I've done pretty much everything there is except for a couple of illegal things, but for the first part...I'm a nymphomaniac!" she announced.

"That is SUCH a lie." Velvet rolled her eyes.

"Do your folks even know about this?" asked Alex.

"Nope. The only person I told was my shrink..." she shrugged.

"So what did he do when you told him?" asked Jeff.

She had a sick smile on her face. "...He screwed me..."

Jeff nearly choked on his soda, while the others stared at her, wide eyed.

"That's insane!" AJ cried. "If he had sex with a minor, a high schooler, then isn't that considered rape?"

"Nope, I doubt from a legal point of view that what he did could be considered as rape since I paid the dude."

The gang stared at her, speechless.

"...What kind of freak ARE you?" asked Punk.

"Yeah, he's an adult for God's sakes!" Mickie exclaimed.

Maria wasn't bothered, though, as she was enjoying all of this attention that she so rarely received.

"Yep, and he's MARRIED, too!" she continued, smiling.

Velvet shook her head, disgusted. "I cannot believe that I'm hearing this. Do you know how gross that is?" she asked.

"Well, the first couple of times..."

"First COUPLE of times?" Jeff cried. "Maria, this guy did that to you more than once?"

"Sure!"

"Are you insane?" Jeff and Velvet asked at the same time.

"Clearly she's crazy if she's banging her own shrink." Alex announced, matter of factly.

"Well, have either of you girls ever done it?" Maria asked Mickie, AJ, and Velvet.

"No way!" AJ declined. "I'd rather wait until my wedding night, thank you very much."

"Same here. And even if I didn't wait, what you're doing is just wrong on so many levels." agreed Mickie.

"Me, three. Plus, I don't even have a psychiatrist." added Velvet.

"Doesn't have to be a psych. Have you ever did it with a normal guy?" asked Maria.

Punk smirked at this, eager to hear the answer to this.

"Hey, didn't we already go over this earlier?" the blonde demanded.

"Aw, come on, Vel, answer the question..." Punk egged her on.

"No! Look, why should I have to discuss my personal life with a bunch of strangers?" she cried.

"Y'know, whether you have or haven't done it...it still seems like a two edged sword, doesn't it?" asked Maria.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Look, if you say that you haven't done it, then you're a prude, and if you say that you have done it, you're a whore! It's a no win situation. You want to do it, but you cant, but when you do, you wish you didn't!...Right?" the redhead continued.

The gang exchanged confused looks.

"I no understand." Alex shrugged.

"Uh...yeah, she's wrong. I think." Velvet replied.

"Oh, stop being such a tease!" Maria cried.

"Are you being a tease, Vel?" Chris asked, leaning back.

"Chris-oh, can't you all just drop it?" she demanded.

"Come on, I'm a little curious, too. You're keeping something from all of us here and I think that we've known each other here long enough for you to share. So stop being a tease!" Sabin replied.

"Hey, she's only being a tease if what she does gets you hot..." Alex whispered to him with a wink.

"I didn't do anything!" the cheerleader cried.

"And that's exactly why you're a tease." Maria smiled.

"Ok, Grim Reaper, let me ask you a few questions." she turned the tables on her.

"What? I already told you everything about me!"

"Apparently not. Doesn't it make you feel just a bit cheap to sleep around without being in love? Don't you want any respect?" the blonde asked.

"I'd like to know the answer to that, too." Jeff agreed, crossing his arms. He was still shocked that his crush had revealed herself to be this way.

"Look, I don't screw to get respect. That's the difference between us." Maria replied.

"Gosh, hope that's not the only difference." she muttered.

"Aw, just face it, you're a tease and you know it!" Punk announced.

"No, I'm not!" she snapped.

"Sure you are! You just said that you use sex as a weapon, you use it to get yourself respect!"

"I said no such thing! Maria twisted my words up!" the cheerleader retorted.

"So what do you use sex for?"

Velvet was on the verge of tears. "I DON'T use it at all! I didn't mean what I said that way! You're all putting words into my mouth!"

"Look, just answer the question and we'll let this go, it's that simple." Punk replied.

"Answer the question, Velvet." Alex chimed in.

"Come on, Vel, be honest." Chris added.

"I'm...a little curious to hear your answer." AJ said shyly.

"Yeah, it's no big deal!" Maria exclaimed.

"Guys, come on, just leave her alone." Mickie told them.

"Yeah, if she doesn't want to tell, then she doesn't." agreed Jeff.

"But we want to know! Answer it!" exclaimed Alex.

"We're curious, Vel, tell us!" Chris smiled.

"Talk to us, pinky!" Punk smiled along.

"Come on, answer the question!" Chris and Alex exclaimed.

"It's easy, just one question!" Punk continued.

Their overlapping words finally sent Velvet over the edge.

"NO! I HAVE NEVER DONE IT!" she screamed, tears streaming down her face.

The gang finally quieted down, surprised.

"You HAPPY now?" she demanded, breathing heavily.

"Ok, I may as well bring out another bombshell. I never had sex before, either. I'm not a nymphomaniac...I'm a compulsive liar!" Maria announced.

"Come on, Ria, that's not cool..." Jeff shook his head, a little disappointed.

Shocked and pissed, Velvet snapped her attention to her. "You are such a bitch! You did that on purpose just to screw me over, didn't you?"

"Hey, I would do it! Only if I were in love with that person..." she replied, turning to Jeff.

"How dare you? I cannot believe you, I can't believe how-how weird you are! You don't say a word all damn day, and as soon as you open your mouth , you drop all of these-these outrageous lies all over me!" Velvet continued. "And Chris, I thought you were on my side! Why would you help them egg me on about telling my secret?"

"Look, I'm sorry Vel, I really am. But you're just pissed off cause she got you to admit something you didn't want to admit to!" Sabin replied truthfully.

She looked at him and sighed, nodding a little. "All right, whatever, but that doesn't make this situation any less freakish!"

"What's freakish?" Jeff spoke up. "I mean, if you think about it, we're all pretty freakish! Some of us are just good at hiding it, that's all."

"How are you freakish?" asked Velvet.

Maria spoke for him. "He can't seem to think for himself."

He looked at her and nodded. "Yep, she's right. You guys know what I _really_ did to get in here?" he asked.

They turned their attention to him. "Well, uh...you know that kid who fell down the stairs the other day and ended up spraining his arm?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah, he took a nasty fall. Why?" asked Punk.

"Well...he didn't fall. He was pushed. By me." the Enigma announced solemnly.

The others either gasped or stared in wide eyed shock.

"Jeff! But...why?" asked Mickie. "You're like, one of the nicest guys in the whole school, why would you do such a thing?"

"I'm not proud of what I've done! But y'see, the freakish thing was, I did it for my pop. The reason why I can't really think for myself is because, I wanted some kind of attention from him at home. That's why I aim to please others. But the reason why I shoved that kid down was because I wanted my dad to finally notice me! Ever since we lost mom, all he ever cared about was my older brother, Matt. He never gave a damn about me." he continued quietly, shaking his head. Maria understood where he was coming from and placed her hand over his. "I hated that I had to hurt that innocent kid, I hated it! But something inside of me was just screaming for me to go to that extreme in order to get a reaction out of my pop."

"So what did he do when he found out?" asked AJ.

He let out a bitter chuckle. "Nothing. I told him that I got a Saturday detention for it, and was lucky not to have gotten suspended for it, and you want to know what he said? He said that I deserved a night in prison for what I did, and he gladly sent me here! Probably glad that I'm finally out of the house, not moping around. So, that's my story."

"My God, Jeff, I had no idea..." Velvet shook her head, while the others were still quiet.

"I think your old man and my old man should get together and go partying at Dave and Buster's." Punk joked.

Jeff chuckled back.

"I-I kinda understand where you guys are coming from, too." AJ shyly spoke up. "With me, I just feel that my folks have...given up on me. I mean, I know that they love me, but...it doesn't seem real to me. It's like, I look at myself in the mirror every day, and I just don't like who I see staring back at me, I just don't." she revealed.

Inside, Alex's heart was breaking over hearing this from the girl he was growing to love. "What?" he asked, surprised.

"What's wrong, AJ? Why don't you like yourself?" Velvet asked sympathetically.

"I dunno, I guess...just everything about me is so awkward. The way I speak, the way I look at people...guess that's why I don't have that many friends. But who could blame them? I mean, I'm only friends with the geeks who like comics and pokemon, and stuff like that. Plus, I've got straight A's in every subject, so that adds to my nerdiness. So that brings us to the reason why I'm in here. I was the one responsible for placing that paint filled balloon in Angelina Love's locker." she announced, to shocked looks from the gang.

"Wow, April, I...I couldn't picture you doing anything like that!" Alex exclaimed, surprised.

"Hey, I can't stand her, so I have to thank you, April." Mickie smiled a little.

"But why'd you do that? She's one of my best friends, actually." Velvet asked, a little hurt.

"It's because she's one of the cheerleaders like you are! Me and my friends have been looked down, picked on, and stepped on by you guys because you think you're all so superior! Just a little fact here - one of your little friends, Madison Rayne, purposely ruined my friend's science project that she worked for weeks on, just because she felt like she had every right to!" the brunette snapped.

"Look, that was Madison's fault, why are you snapping at me for?" Velvet demanded.

"I just cannot stand you cheerleaders acting like you own this place, that's all. It's mean, it's not right, and you girls are nothing but bullies in short skirts."

"AJ, listen to me! I'm sorry if my friends and I've done anything harsh to you and your friends, but I would never intentionally hurt anyone! That's not who I am! Besides, I can't even stand Madison, she's even mean to me sometimes. But just because they've been acting like bitches, doesn't mean you have to bite my head off, too." the blonde continued. "To be honest, a few years ago...I was unpopular, too."

"Wow, that's a shocker." Punk said, his eyes widening.

"It's true. Nobody would give me a second look until I finally ditched my glasses for contacts, got that boob job, and nearly starved myself to get my figure. Looking back, it really wasn't worth all the damage I've done to myself." she shook her head.

"Wow, Velvet...I didn't know." AJ said, a little guilty. "I'm sorry I snapped at you."

"It's ok. You had every right to be angry." she flashed her a smile.

"Ok, so I guess the lesson learned here is that neither of you two is better than the other, am I right?" asked Alex.

They smiled and nodded towards one another.

"Guess so. So what's your story, Alex? Why are you in detention with us?" asked AJ.

"Not much to tell, dear April. The other day, some kid brought up my past and I had to punch him out. Badly." he replied, staring at the opposite wall. "See, not many young 17 year olds get to hear and go through the disturbing truth of learning that you were _adopted_, and haven't been told of it for the last 17 years of your life." he revealed next, provoking some more shocked looks from his comrades. "Yeah, it stings. The day my 'folks' told me-no, scratch that-the day I FOUND out on my own that I wasn't related to them, I just couldn't believe it. So I had to squeeze the truth outta them and after seventeen-SEVENTEEN years, they finally tell me that my birth parents pretty much never gave a second thought about me and just left me at the hospital for whoever came by to pick me up instead." he continued, cracking his knuckles at the memory. "Sometimes, I still wonder why they never wanted me to begin with. I didn't turn out that bad, did I?"

The others quietly shook their heads in mutual understanding, while AJ teared up a little and wrapped her arms around him.

"So that's why I became a musician, to just...get away from life and to finally do something that makes ME happy. But you know what? Even though a part of me will be pissed at my folks for lying to me all these years, at least they support what I do." he smiled a little.

"Well, at least things are looking up for you, Shelley, and I think you turned out pretty decent." Chris said with a smile, while the others nodded along.

"Thanks, man. So uh, who wants to share something now?" asked Alex. "How'd you get in here, Mickie?"

"Pretty simple. As you all probably know, I don't like to take bull from anyone, and the reason I'm in here is similar to Alex's. I got in a pretty brutal fight with someone after they called me a 'poor, low class piece of trailer trash'." the brunette announced.

"Oh my God, that's terrible!" AJ whispered.

"What'd you do after the fight?" asked Punk, who was a little upset at this. He wasn't supposed to have any sympathy for any of these people who he barely knew, but for some reason, he felt differently for her.

"Well, my folks were pissed that I got into another fight, first of all, and mentioned that I needed this detention to think about what I've done. But what was there to think about? I mean, I know that I'm a tough girl, but what she said really hurt me! Yeah, I don't dress in name brands like Velvet here, and I don't have all the money in the world! I'm not blonde, I'm not a cheerleader, I don't like dressing in a skirt, and I don't like trying to be the child that my parents want me to be!" she cried, getting more and more upset. "You know why they named me Mickie? It was because my father wanted a boy, and once I popped out, I'm sure I could picture the disappointment on his face. And all my life, I tried to please him, I TRIED to be what he envisioned for me to be! That's why I dress like a tomboy sometimes, and that's why I get into fights with everything and everyone! It's just not fair. I shouldn't have to justify myself for him. I just...I don't deserve this." she said, her voice breaking.

Surprisingly, Punk placed a hand over her knee. "He doesn't deserve you." he said quietly, to her surprise.

She looked at him. "Wow...that's like...the nicest thing you've said to anyone all day."

"Yeah, I guess all of this sharing has softened me up a little. So changing gears here-" he began.

Maria cut him off by exclaiming, "I can write with my toes!"

They looked at her.

"I can eat, brush my teeth-"

"With your feet?" Mickie asked slowly.

"And play 'Chopsticks' on the piano." she finished.

"I can make jell-o!" Alex announced, eliciting a giggle from AJ.

Velvet turned to Chris. "So, what can you do?"

"Well, uh...I can beat you all in everything since I'm so confident in myself." he shrugged with a smirk. "Look, I can make a 'U' with my tongue, too!" he cried, doing just that.

"Well get down, Arrogant Cockypants." Punk said sarcastically. "But I wanna see what Velvet can do."

"I can't do anything."

"Aw, come on! Everyone can do something." Chris replied.

"Well...ok, there's one thing that I can do-no, never mind, it's too embarrassing." she shook her head.

"Aw, come on! We've been sharing all afternoon, no point in hiding anything else from us." Jeff replied.

"Ok, but you all have to swear on your lives that you won't laugh." she smiled. "Can't believe I'm really doing this..."

After that, she turned around so that her back was facing them, she lifted up the back of her shirt, and then flexed both of her arms all the way back, revealing both of her shoulder blades poking ahead from her skin.

"OH!" Alex hooted, laughing.

"Holy crap, how do you do that?" asked AJ.

"That's awesome!-Sick!" Jeff, Maria, and Mickie exclaimed, clapping. Meanwhile, Punk's clap was sarcastic and slow.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" asked Chris.

"Summer camp." she smiled, but her smile soon faded once they all heard Punk still 'clapping'.

"Amazing, Vel. My image of you has changed for the worse." he said bitterly.

"Don't be such a shit! Don't be mean to her, you swore that you wouldn't laugh!" Maria exclaimed.

"Oh, am I laughing?" he asked disparagingly. "Just look at my happy teeth!"

"You're a prick, you know that?" Chris snapped.

"Yeah, seriously, can't you just shut up before you make things worse?" agreed Alex.

CM turned to Shelley, getting angry since his words began to hit home. "Oh, what do you care what I think, anyway?" he asked in a scornful whisper. "I don't count, right? I could disappear forever, and nobody would give a damn. Your words, remember?" Then, he turned to Velvet. "And YOU! You don't even like me anyway!"

"Why the hell should I when you've been acting like a douche to all of us all day?" she demanded. "Besides, I have just as many feelings as you do, considering that you even HAVE feelings, and it hurts me just as much when somebody steps all over them!"

"Oh, go and cry me a fucking river! You are so pathetic!" Punk snapped, furious. "Don't you EVER, _ever_! Think about comparing yourself to me, ok? You have everything, trust funds, everything! You're set for life! See, I may have had a beef with everyone here, but at least the person that I can sympathize with the most is Mickie, because she knows how it really is to come from such a shitty background."

While he continued his tirade, Mickie was a little touched that he truly understood her story, but decided not to say anything.

"Like I said, Vel, you have everything and I got shit! You're what, fuckin' Cinderella, aren't ya? School would probably fuckin' close down if you were late for class! 'Oh, dear God, Princess isn't here, it's the end of the world'!" he imitated. "Oh, and by the way, I love those earrings, Velvet."

She was hurt. "Shut up..." she muttered quietly.

"Are those real diamonds, Vel?"

"I said, shut up!" she repeated, angry.

"Bet they are. Did you work, you know, to get the money to buy those earrings?"

"Shut your LYING mouth!"

"Or did daddy buy those?" he asked mockingly.

"SHUT UP!" she screamed, furious. Soon afterwards, his words were getting to her and she began crying, not even realizing when she threw herself into Chris's arms.

"Hey, hey, don't listen to him, all right?" he said, roaming a soothing hand across her back. "Punk, you are one self righteous son of a bitch." he told him, shaking his head.

"Tell me something I don't know. Now Vel, why you hiding? I'm just telling you what you already know! I know he brought you those pretty little earrings! They were probably a Christmas gift! Right? Well, you know what I got for X-mas this year? It was a fan-fucking-tastic year at the Brooks residence! And my X-mas gift was a nice ass kicking from my pop. The old man grabbed me and beat the shit out of me like a homeless mutt. Okay? So you go home and cry to your daddy, don't bring the waterworks over here, all right?" Punk finished.

The room was totally silent, as Velvet wiped away her tears and gained her composure again.

"My God. Are we gonna end up like our parents?" Jeff asked thoughtfully.

Mickie scoffed. "Not me. Not ever."

"But it's unavoidable. Shit like that just happens." replied Maria.

"What happens?" she asked.

"When you get older, your heart dies." she explained.

"What does that have to do with anything?" asked Punk.

"Everything!" she cried back, on the verge of tears herself.


	12. Confessions, pt 2

**_AN: Hey, guys, just wanted to let you know that this will be the last week for the story, since there are three chapters left after this one. *tear tear*_  
**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

"Hey, guys? Um, I was just thinking, I know it's kind of a weird time, but um, I was wondering...what's gonna happen to us on Monday? When we're all back in school together? I mean, I'd like to think of you all as my friends. I'm not wrong, am I?" asked AJ.

"Well, of course not. I'm definitely your friend." Alex said with a smile.

She smiled back. "So on Monday, what happens?" she asked.

"You mean, are we STILL friends?" asked Velvet. "If we're all friends now, that is?"

"Yep."

"Well, to tell you the truth...I don't think so." the cheerleader replied.

"Wait, do you mean with all of us or just Punk?" asked Maria.

She nervously twiddled her fingers. "...With all of you."

All of them, mostly Chris, was a little hurt. "Oh wow, Velvet, that's real nice!" he snapped, frowning.

"Oh, honestly, Chris! Say if Alex came walking up to you in the hall on Monday. What would you do? I could just picture you there chatting with all of your friends from the Varsity team, and the academic club, and all those other precious little clubs that you belong to. And I know exactly what you'd do. You'd wave a little 'hi' to him, and as soon as his back's turned, you'd turn on him so that your buddies wouldn't think you really liked him!" the blonde exclaimed.

"What?" Chris demanded, shocked.

"Wait, Chris. Would you really do that?" Alex asked hesitantly.

He looked him dead in the eye and replied, "No, I wouldn't."

"Kay, so what if I came up to you?" asked Maria.

"Same thing!" Velvet exclaimed.

Punk was furious at this and spat at her, "You are a BITCH!"

"Oh why? Cause I'm being honest, does that make ME the bitch?" she demanded back.

"No, because you KNOW how shitty that is to do to someone! And you know what, you don't even have the balls to stand up to your little blonde, plastic friends and tell them that you're gonna like who you want to like!" the rebel continued.

She chuckled lightly. "Wow! Wow. And this is coming from someone who had one hell of a time insulting everyone else in this room! You are such a hypocritical bastard. So how about you? Why don't you take Mickie out to one of your heavy metal thrash parties? Why don't you take Jeff out to the back parking lot and fill up on those damn Shrooms? What about AJ, Alex, Chris, Maria, ME, for that matter? What would your friends say if they saw the eight of us walking down the halls together? I bet they'd laugh their asses off and you'd tell em that you were doing it with both me AND Mickie so that they'd forgive you for being seen with us." she finished.

Punk shook his head and ran his tongue across his lip ring, before angrily replying, "Don't you EVER mention my friends! You don't KNOW them, you don't LOOK at them, and you sure as hell wouldn't go so low as to SPEAK to any of my friends, so you need to shut the hell up and stick to what you know best: shopping, your trust fund, your daddy's Ferrari, and your poor, rich, alcoholic excuse for a mother vacationing in the Bahamas!" he spat with venom in his voice.

"Punk, just stop!" cried Mickie.

Punk's words cut Velvet like a knife. She was furious and sobbing again, "SHUT UP!" she snapped.

"And as far as being worried about what's gonna happen when we all walk down the halls at school, you can damn well forget about it! Cause it ain't gonna happen! Just continue spending your wealth until you go bankrupt, and wait for your fuckin' prom!" he continued.

"I HATE you!" Velvet spat back. "You stupid son of a bitch!"

"Yeah? GOOD!" he cried back.

"Punk, STOP!" Mickie snapped. "You're going too far, just stop."

The room was silent again.

"Then I guess that Maria and I are better people than you guys, huh?" asked Jeff. "Pretty ironic considering that we're the two freaks in the room." he turned to Maria. "Would you pretend that you never knew any of us after today?"

"I don't have any friends..." she said quietly. "Except for you."

"Well, even if it were just me, would you?" he asked.

She paused and looked up at him. "Course not. You're just as tormented as I am on the inside."

"I understand." Jeff agreed, before turning back to the others. "And I know that we've all done horrible things in the past, and none of us have had picture-perfect lives, but I'll tell you all this: I'd never forget about you guys, cause I think ignorance is a real shitty thing."

"You're absolutely right, Jeff." agreed Chris. "After today, I wouldn't want you guys to be an afterthought, either."

"Well hey, your friends from the academic club and all those other clubs that you're in wouldn't mind cause they look up to us cheerleaders." Velvet said, twirling a strand of her hair. "It can't be helped."

Chris chuckled a little, before turning to her. "And what is that supposed to mean, Velvet? God, I mean, one minute, I feel that I'm falling for you, and the next, you open your mouth, say something, and ruin it! You're so conceited, Vel, you're so full of it sometimes. Why the hell are you like that?"

Shocked that this was coming from him, she teared up and replied, "I am NOT saying that to be conceited! You don't understand me at all, Chris, I hate it! I have having to do and go along with everything my friends say! Even if I disagree with them, my opinion never matters!"

"All right, then why do you put up with them?" Sabin asked.

"I don't know! I don't-you just don't understand. You're not friends with the same type of people that I'm friends with! Y'know, you just do not get the pressure that they can put on you on a daily basis!" she cried.

This time, Chris was the one who was hurt on the receiving end of her words. "You don't think that I understand?" he asked slowly and quietly. "You don't think that I understand pressure, Vel? Well, SCREW YOU!...Screw. You." he said, quickly hiding his head in his arm to hide his tears.

The blonde watched him, speechless, along with everyone else.

He sniffled. "You know, I never got to tell any of you my story, or how I ended up here. Well, I am here because one of the teachers...found a gun in my locker." he announced.

Their mouths hung open in shock. Punk's eyes widened.

"Chris? Why the hell did you have a gun in your locker?" Alex asked slowly.

He rambled on. "You know, you're supposed to pull the fuckin' trunk on it and the light's supposed to go off, and it didn't go off, I mean..."

"What was the gun for, Chris?" Alex repeated, serious.

"Know what, just forget it, I don't even know why I'm telling you all this." he mumbled.

"YOU brought it up, man!" exclaimed Jeff.

Sabin sighed. "I'm in all these different school clubs for a reason. My folks want me to be the number one stud in the house, so from day one, all they've ever expected from me was excellence. Anything lower than a B, and I'm toast. Well, you know what, I didn't get a B, I ended up getting an F in wood shop last semester. An F! That's just something that I can't have, and it's SURE as hell something that my parents will not have! And even if I aced the rest of the semester, my overall average is still only a B. My folks'll never forgive me for this, so everything I've worked so hard for is ruined for me. " he finished.

"Oh, Chris..." Velvet wiped away another tear, putting a hand on his shoulder. He angrily shoved a chair over.

"So I looked over my options, you know?" he continued.

"No! Suicide is NOT an option, Chris!" the blonde replied, her brown eyes piercing into his blue ones. "It's NOT!"

"Yeah, getting a low grade is absolutely no reason for you to beat up on yourself, man." Jeff agreed.

"Well, I didn't do it, did I?" Chris asked. "No, I did not!"

"Was it a handgun?" asked AJ.

"No, it was a flare gun. Just happened to go off in my locker, so that's how they found out." he replied.

Maria began to laugh.

He snapped his head to look at her. "It's not funny..."

Then, the teens looked at one another for a few moments, smiles began growing on their faces, including Chris's, and before they knew it, the once silent room was filled with laughter.

"Hell, it is, isn't it?" Sabin chuckled, using the back of his hand to wipe away his tears. "That God-awful sweater that my mom made me wear was destroyed, at least!"

"You guys wanna know how I got in here?" asked Maria. "...Absolutely nothing. I was bored and didn't have anything better to do."

The gang laughed once again.

"Why are you all laughing at me?" she asked innocently.

"We're not laughing at you! We're laughing _with_ you!" Jeff exclaimed.

The redhead couldn't help it. She began to laugh, too. "Yeah, right!"

"Come on, you guys. We've spent enough time crying our eyes out, whaddya say we all have a little fun while we're still trapped in here?" asked Mickie.

"YEAH!" the gang agreed, getting up and roaming around the huge library.


	13. The Makeover

**Chapter 13**

Moments later, Chris turned on the radio to an old 1980's music station, where a new song started.

_Though I've tried before to tell her_

_Of the feelings I have for her in my heart_

_Every time I come near her_

_I just lose my nerve as I've done from the start_

_Every little thing she does is magic_

_Everything she do just turns me on_

_Even though my life before was tragic_

_Now I know my love for her goes on..._

By the librarian's desk, Maria did this weird voodoo type of dance where she shook, raised her arms around, and then twirled and hopped around in circles to the beat of the music. In the background, Punk clung onto a statue in the library, headbanging.

_Do I have to tell the story_

_Of a thousand rainy days since we fist met?_

_It's a big enough umbrella_

_But it's always me that ends up getting wet_

_Every little thing she does is magic_

_Everything she do just turns me on_

_Even though my life before was tragic_

_Now I know my love for her goes on..._

In the library's office, Chris clapped to the beat while he nonchalantly tossed random papers all over the room.

On the second floor of the library, Velvet swayed her body around, doing a few spins and twirls over the stairs.

_I resolved to call her up_

_A thousand times a day_

_Ask her if she'll marry me_

_In some old fashioned way_

_But my silent fears have gripped me_

_Long before I reach the phone_

_Long before my tongue has tripped me_

_Must I always be alone..._

Alex nodded along to the beat and tapped his hands over his knee, watching the others dance along.

Punk was still violently headbanging, and clinging to the statue.

Chris pelvic thrusted a few times, clinging onto the office's doorframe, before gliding out and joining the others.

_Every little thing she does is magic_

_Everything she do just turns me on_

_Even though my life before was tragic_

_Now I know my love for her goes on..._

AJ shuffled her feet while her hair flipped back and forth, laughing as she was getting lost in the song, while Alex nodded along and used both fingers to point towards her with a wink.

Maria was still twirling around and doing her little voodoo dance.

Mickie skipped all over the room, leapt over a table, and continued to dance.

Alex lifted one leg over the stair railing while he played a little air guitar.

Jeff also nodded along, doing a cool Michael Jackson-type of spin.

_Every little thing she does is magic_

_Everything she do just turns me on_

_Even though my life before was tragic_

_Now I know my love for her goes on..._

Punk and Mickie stood over another table and shuffled side by side across it, with Punk's hands casually shoved in his pockets and a blank expression on his face.

_Every little thing, every little thing_

_Every little thing, every little thing_

_Every little, every little, every little_

_Every little thing she does_

After that, Jeff, Punk, Alex, and Chris all stood in a line and stomped across the table in a manly fashion, which really looked rather funny.

_Every little thing she does_

_Every little thing she does_

_Every little thing she does_

_Thing she does is magic_

Next, Velvet and AJ did their own little shuffle across the table, laughing all the way.

Jeff did a few breakdance moves with his feet, while he whipped his hair back and forth.

_Every little thing, every little thing_

_Every little thing she do is magic_

_Magic, magic, magic, magic, magic_

_Hey-oh! Hey-oh!_

_Eh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh..._

Finally, Maria did this shimmy-shake move with her arms pumped into the air, still gyrating around when she fell to her knees and finished it off with a face plant to the carpet.

_Do I have to tell the story_

_Of a thousand rainy days since we first met?_

_It's a big enough umbrella_

_But it's always me that ends up getting wet..._

After the gang had their little fun, Punk remembered that he had to get back to the closet before Cole found out that he was missing, so he climbed back up through the heating duct. Meanwhile, in the library, the rest of the gang were sitting on the railing...

"Well guys, we only have about an hour left in here. Can you believe it?" announced Alex.

"Actually, no." Mickie replied. "Guys, to be honest, I thought that today would be an absolute nightmare, but now...today was probably one of the best days I've ever had."

"Same here. Aside from Punk mouthing off for most of the day, this Detention was pretty damned cool." agreed Jeff.

"Who knew that eight strangers would eventually be spilling their innermost secrets with each other, y'know?" added Chris. "But for the record, I'm glad that I met you all."

Velvet smiled at him and the others. "I'm glad that I met you guys, too. It's nice to speak to people who aren't carrying pom poms 24/7 for a change." she agreed.

"So uh, does this mean that we're all friends now?" asked AJ.

The room was quiet for a moment before Alex spoke up first and said, "Well, as I've said earlier, I like you guys, so yeah."

"Yeah, we are." agreed Mickie.

"Totally." agreed Jeff.

"Same here." agreed Chris.

"Meep!" agreed Maria. "Uh, I-I mean, yeah, same here."

Velvet paused for a moment before chuckling. "Yeah, yeah, we're all friends now." she agreed. "Hey, wait, I just remembered something!"

"What?"

"What about that paper we're supposed to write for Cole?" she asked. "I don't think we'll all have time to write em before we have to leave."

"Well, what else can we do?" asked AJ. "None of us want to write those things."

"Well hey, how about instead of writing separate papers, I'll just write one essay for all of us?" suggested Chris.

"You sure, man? You don't have to." replied Jeff.

"No, I insist. But that's only if you guys trust me enough to do so."

Velvet looked towards the others, who either nodded or sent a thumbs up in approval, before saying, "We trust you, Overachiever."

He smiled back at her, took her hand for a moment, before replying, "All right, I'm on it! I won't let you guys down."

Soon after, Mickie headed off, when Jeff caught her and asked, "Hey, where are you off to?"

"I have to go and visit a friend." she flashed him a smile before going on her way.

In the meantime, Maria mindlessly twirled a strand of her hair when Velvet gestured for AJ to follow her, and then they both approached the redhead. "Ok, you are coming with us."

"Are you two kidnapping me?" Maria asked back.

"Oh, will you just come on?" the blonde giggled, as she and AJ led her to the other side of the room, away from the boys.

"Ooh, are we going on an adventure?" she asked again.

"No, we are not. You sit down, while we give you a little makeover." Velvet announced.

Her eyes widened. "Makeover? Why?"  
"What do you mean, 'why'? Look over there." Velvet said, pointing towards Jeff in the distance. "I know that he likes you, and I know that you're digging him too, am I right?"

The redhead blushed. "We're both tortured souls..." she smiled.

"Eh..ok! Well, you are a very beautiful girl, and I think that Jeff needs to see that behind all of this hair always covering your face."

"I'm...beautiful?" she asked, surprised.

"Of course you are!" agreed AJ. "But Velvet does have a point, how could he really notice you if you're dressed like...like...this?"

"That bad, huh?" Maria asked.

"Kind of. HE is the reason why we're giving you a makeover, and you'll thank us once we're through with you." Velvet replied, taking out some makeup from her purse. "Now first, we'll need some eye shadow to accentuate the color of your eyes."

She began brushing the shadow over her eyelids, while she couldn't help but to giggle. "Stop, that tickles!"

"And now, AJ, will you apply the eyeliner, please?" the cheerleader requested.

"Sure."

"Why are you guys sticking all this stuff into my eyes?" Maria cried.

"Just calm down and stay still before we _do _end up messing with your sight." replied Velvet.

"Wow, Ria, you look amazing already!" AJ smiled.

"Most definitely." Velvet replied, standing back to admire their work. "See, you really do look so much better without all that black shit on your eyes."

"But I like that black shit on my eyes!" Maria laughed. "But guys...why are you being so nice to me? I thought that all of you were afraid of me."

"Well, um, at first we were a little worried, but after getting to know you, you're really funny and awesome." AJ replied, twiddling her fingers.

"Yeah, and besides, we're being nice to you because you're letting us." Velvet agreed.

Maria couldn't stop the smile forming on her face.


	14. Best Day of Our Lives

**Chapter 14**

Meanwhile, Punk was still trapped in the closet, mindlessly banging his head against the wall in pure boredom, but when the door opened, he stiffened up, afraid that Cole was there. But once he saw Mickie appear instead, he breathed a sigh of relief and even smiled a little. "Hello, doll face. You lost?" he asked.

She giggled.

In the library, Chris was finishing up on the essay, while Alex played some more air guitar, and Jeff was reading through a poetry book. He peeked up for a second to see Maria a short distance away from him, but then took a double take and dropped his book once he saw the new and improved Maria. Instead of her hair hanging in her face, her red hair was slung over her shoulder, showing off her features a lot more, and her makeup consisted of some light green eye shadow and light pink lip gloss. So she still looked both edgy and cute at the same time. "...Ria?" he asked, speechless.

She mustered a smile and shyly approached him, saying, "Hi, Jeff!"

The Enigma could feel his heart pounding in his chest, and the only thing he could utter was, "Y-You...are so gorgeous."

"Thank you!" she exclaimed back.

At the same time, Chris, Velvet, Alex, and AJ all watched the scene at once.

"Wow, she looks great!" Alex exclaimed. "What'd you girls do to her?"

"Nothing a little makeup couldn't handle." Velvet replied, high fiving with AJ.

"Well, good for those two." Chris nodded. "And Vel, that was a really great thing that you did, I'm impressed."

She smiled and placed her hand over his. "Thanks. Y'know, I think being in here has made me into a better person. It's nice to make others happier."

"That's a great thing to hear, Vel, but honestly, I never thought that you were a bad person to begin with." Sabin replied before whispering to her, "Besides, remember what you said earlier about...how sweet you thought it was if-if..."

"You were a virgin?" she whispered back.

He nodded. "Yeah. I didn't want to tell this in front of the others, but...it's true. I am, just like you are."

The blonde nodded. "Well, that's perfectly fine with me. And don't worry, I won't tell a soul."

"Thanks." he chuckled.

"And Chris, there's another thing."

"Yeah?"

"Earlier, when we were all revealing our deepest, darkest secrets, I remember you saying that you were falling for me? Is-is that true?"

"Ah, haha..." he sighed, feeling a bit flushed. "Well, Velvet, yes, it's true. Even though I never had the courage to ever speak to you before today, I've always had a soft spot for the most beautiful, nicest, and most considerate cheerleader in the school. There, I said it."

"Oh, Chris..." she began, before wrapping her arms around him in a hug. "I think that I'm falling for you, too."

Surprised at this, a smile grew onto his face and responded back by hugging her in return.

In the meantime, AJ grabbed another one of her comic books and sat cross-legged on the carpet. Sighing, she couldn't really read anything and placed the book down, resting her head in her hands.

"April?" Alex questioned, sitting next to her. "What's wrong?"

"I dunno, I just feel really bummed."

"That today's almost over? I know how you feel. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd have such a blast stuck in Saturday detention." Shelley replied.

She laughed. "I know, right? But most of all, I'm so glad that I got to meet you, Alex. To be honest, I never thought that any boy would have any interest in me, so I admit, I was shocked that you didn't think I was…childish and naïve for liking Pokemon and comics and video games and such." she replied.

"April, are you kidding? I think that a chick who loves those kinda things is one worth keeping! I don't think you're childish or naïve at all, hell, I'M childish once you think about it! I still like watching Saturday morning cartoons with a nice bowl of Cookie Crisps and milk on the side!" he exclaimed, smiling.

She laughed again. "I love Saturday morning cartoons and Cookie Crisps."

"See? That's something else we have in common! But seriously. I just wish you weren't so insecure about yourself. I wish you could see the amazing girl that I see here right next to me. How could any guy not have any interest in a beauty like you?" he asked, tilting her head so that she met his gaze.

AJ began to tear up. "Alex…"

"It's true. And you know what? I definitely don't want today to be the last day that I see you."

"I don't, either. And um…I remember your story from earlier, y'know, about how you found out that you were adopted? I just couldn't imagine ever finding out and going through anything like that. If I were there, I would've just hugged you and never let you go." the geek replied while Alex flashed her a genuine smile and wrapped a protective arm around her. "And for the record, you turned out to be a pretty amazing guy. Plus…you're hot." she giggled, blushing.

He laughed along. "Well, thanks, beautiful! Hey, you planning on going to the Senior Prom this year?"

"Well, at first I wasn't, but I'd love to go with you. I-I mean, if you want." she twiddled her fingers again.

"I wasn't going at first, either, but I'd love to take ya. Ever dreamed of showing up there in a huge Hummer limo on the red carpet, being the envy of the entire school?" asked Shelley.

She gasped. "Yes, that'd be a dream come true! Did you have a limo rented out?"

"Uh, not really. Would you settle for an '86 Corvette instead?" he asked with a chuckle. AJ playfully hit him and laughed along.

Back in the closet...

"Just thought you were here feeling lonely, so I wanted to pay you a little visit." Mickie told Punk.

"Well, that's very, very flattering, but what if Cole waltzes in here and finds you? He'll probably give you next Saturday detention, too." he replied.

"Y'know, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, considering the fact that you're going to be here every Saturday for the next two months anyway." the brunette smirked.

The tattooed teen laughed. "Touche. So why are you REALLY in here?"

"I told you! I felt bad that you were in here by yourself, so I wanted to visit you!"

"What a change of heart, doll face. Seven and a half hours ago, we were seconds away from literally fighting one another, and now we're sharing sweet nothings in a storage closet? Where, oh, where has this world gone?" he asked, in fake dramatics.

"Ha! So true. But like you said before, we really do have more in common than we both thought. We both like kicking people's asses if they give us lip..."

"We've both come from broken homes..." added Punk.

"And I think that although you're stubborn and arrogant as hell...I've grown to like you." she admitted.

He chuckled lightly and stood up to meet her height. " And I think that although you seem like such a mouthy brat...you've got guts, doll face, and I like ya too." he smiled genuinely.

After that, his chocolate eyes gazed into her dark hazel eyes, and before either of them could blink, they leaned in and shared an intensely passionate kiss that lasted for a good few seconds. After they broke away, they were left speechless.

"WOW, you've got some serious lip talent..." he uttered.

"Oh yeah, you were great, too." she uttered back, nodding quickly. Then, they both bursted out laughing in the wake of their awkwardness. Apparently, opposites really do attract.

Back in the library...

Chris lifted up his finished paper and kissed it. "At last! It is COMPLETED!"

Velvet laughed. "Way to go, Overachiever." she smiled before kissing him on the cheek.

Meanwhile, Jeff was still awestruck upon seeing the new Maria. "Oh my God, Ria, what happened to you?" he asked with a surprised smile.

On the other hand, she took his surprise the wrong way and freaked out. "What? Why? Velvet and AJ did it, what's wrong?"

"Whoa, whoa, calm down! Nothing's wrong. In fact, everything's so...so right. You look so different. I can finally see your face." the Enigma continued.

"Is that a good or bad thing?" she asked nervously.

"Are you kidding? That's a great thing!" he smiled.

"But...I'm still weird." she said in a tiny voice.

He tilted her head so that she could meet his gaze. "I think that you're beautifully weird." he replied.

The redhead pouted cutely and then grinned. "That's the nicest thing that anyone's ever told me."

"Well, I'm glad that I was the one who told you first."

"Well, thank you, Jeffro." she replied. "Oh, and by the way..."

"Yeah?"

"You never showed me what you were drawing all day in your sketchbook."

"Ah, well since I'm finished with it now..." he began, handing it to her. She gasped, seeing a wonderfully accurate sketch of herself, that looked exactly like her. "It's-it's me!"

"Yep. This drawing will be a reminder of the best day I've had in a really long time." Jeff finished sincerely, while she continued smiling and took his hand.


	15. Friends Forever

**_AN: Well peeps, it's the last day and the last chapter of the story. Just wanted to take this moment to thank EVERYONE who read, favorited, alerted, and especially my faithful reviewers, you guys ROCK and thanks for making this such a success! If ya want, check out some other stuff on my profile page if you'd like, of course._  
**

* * *

**Chapter 15**

So now, detention was finally over and it was 3 pm, and it was time for the gang to head out and back to their homes. As the eight of them walked down the halls, Maria and Jeff still held hands, Chris wrapped an arm around Velvet's shoulders while her hand was wrapped around his waist, AJ and Alex cutely linked arms, and Punk and Mickie led the way, their hands linked together.

Before they headed out, the others caught notice of this and froze.

The two turned around. "What?" they both asked.

"Whoa...you two...holding hands?" Alex asked, shocked. "How long were you two in that closet?"

They laughed.

"None of your beeswax, Axl Rose. Now, c'mon, let's get the hell outta here." Punk replied with a smirk.

_Hey, hey, hey, hey_

_Won't you come see about me?_

_I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby_

_Tell me your troubles and doubts_

_Giving me everything inside and out and_

_Love's strange so real in the dark_

_Think of the tender things that we were working on_

Soon enough, they arrived outside.

Maria and Jeff faced each other and shared a sweet kiss for the first time, and when she unlaced her hand from his, he found a small nail polish container in his palm. He looked at her questioningly.

"I was thinking of taking it, but it's yours, so you can keep it." the redhead smiled.

He chuckled. "You are a strange one...But I wouldn't take you any other way. Mind if I walk you home?"

"I'd be insulted if you didn't." she smiled. They waved goodbye to their new friends and headed off.

_Show change may pull us apart_

_When the light gets into your heart, baby_

_Don't you forget about me_

_Don't, don't, don't, don't_

_Don't you forget about me_

_Will you stand above me?_

_Look my way, never love me_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down_

"So, Alex, today was really fun, I'm really, _really _glad that I got to meet you. Thanks for defending me when Punk was bothering me earlier." AJ said, feeling the butterflies in her stomach as she looked up at him.

"Hey, why wouldn't I defend an adorable thing like you who enjoys pokemon, comics, and video games?" he smiled back. "Y'know, I'd love it if you'd come over one day and watch my band play. But most of all, I'd love to spend some more time with you. Whaddya say?" asked Shelley. "We could spend hours at a time playing Mortal Kombat together..."

The geek lit up. "Oh, I LOVE Mortal Kombat! And I'd love to spend time with you and watch your band play."

"Then it's a date. Here's my address and number." he said, handing her a paper.

"And here's mine." she said, handing him hers. "Well...I guess I'll see you later."

"Guess so." he nodded. They looked at one another and he leaned in to give her a kiss on the cheek, but when the brunette turned her head, they were shocked to find themselves in a lip lock! Not wanting to break away, she pulled him down to her so that he deepened the kiss, as he pulled her closer to him. Finally after they broke away, they were left smiling and her forehead rested against his. "Wow..." they both sighed blissfully.

*Beep beep*

"Oh, that's my ride. I'll see you around!" AJ said, climbing into the car.

_Will you recognize me?_

_Call my name or walk on by_

_Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling_

_Down, down, down, down_

_Hey, hey, hey, hey..._

"And I'll see _you _around." he waved to her. "Later, guys! And Chris, I'll be expecting you at my place to hear your guitar skills, right?"

"Count on it!" Sabin called back. "So uh, Velvet? What happens now?"

"You mean, with us?" she asked, wrapping her arms around his neck. "I dunno. I guess we're officially together now."

"So you won't be embarrassed to be seen with me when you go visit your fellow cheerleaders?"

"Of course not. I've got a hot guy on my arm, and I don't care what anyone thinks." the blonde smiled.

"You are awesome. So uh, the prom's coming up in a couple of months, and if you're not busy..."

"Don't worry, Chris, I didn't have a date until now. I'd love for you to take me." she said, as her ride pulled up next.

"Great! So uh, call me later, Prom Queen?" he asked.

They were the next to share a pleasingly sweet kiss. "Count on it, Overachiever. Bye." she smiled, climbing into the car.

"Bye." he smiled. "See you guys!" he called to Mickie and Punk as they waved back.

_Don't you try to pretend_

_It's my feeling we'll win in the end_

_I won't harm you or touch your defenses_

_Vanity and security_

_Don't you forget about me_

_I'll be alone, dancing you know it baby_

_Going to take you apart_

_I'll put us back together at heart, baby_

"So, it's just you and me now." Mickie announced.

"Yep. Heh, I still can't believe this day even happened. I almost feel sorry for being such an ass earlier." he replied.

"Almost?" she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, almost. I have an impulse to throw an insult to someone, and I just wouldn't be me without my attitude."

"That's true, the fact that you're such a badass attracted me to you, anyway. And if you turned soft on me, I'd have to kick your ass in order for you to grow a pair once again." the brunette threatened.

He laughed. "Feisty! You're just a little firecracker, aren't ya?"

"Maybe... But Punk, if we're like, going out now or something, just let me give you a few ground rules."

"And let me tell you that there's a good chance that I won't _follow_ those rules. But lay em on me anyway."

"K, first, you'll have to throw away that little handbook of yours with all of your ex-girlfriends."

He shrugged. "That's doable."

"Second, I'll introduce you to my friends if you introduce me to yours."

He nodded. "K."

"And third..." she began, giving him another kiss. "Promise never to forget this day, because I won't."

He brushed away a strand of her hair. "Me neither." he agreed, when Mickie's ride pulled up next. "See ya when I see ya, doll face."

The brunette smiled and called back, "See ya, Phil."

And after her car pulled off, Punk faintly smiled in her direction before chuckling a little. Then, he headed across the street back home, not believing that a day of detention would land him great new friends, and even a new girlfriend. As he headed across the field, he thrusted his fist in the air as a silent cheer.

_Don't you forget about me_

_Don't, don't, don't, don't_

_Don't you forget about me_

_As you walk on by_

_..._

_Will you call my name?_

_As you walk on by_

_Will you call my name?_

_When you walk away_

_Or will you walk away?_

_Will you walk on by?_

_..._

_Come on - call my name_

_Will you call my name?_

_I say: _

_La, la la la la..._

In the library, Cole returned to pick up the essays, but was surprised to only find one there. He picked it up and read:

Chris VO: _"Dear, Mr. Cole, we agree to the fact that we had to sacrifice all of our busy Saturdays here in detention for whatever it was that we all messed up on, and we did indeed mess up. But with all due respect, we think that you're insane for making us write this paper telling you who we all think we are. What the hell do you care? You only see us as how you WANT to see us in your eyes. But after today, we all found out that each one of us is an overachiever..."_

Velvet VO: _"...a princess."_

Jeff VO: _"...an artist."_

Maria VO: _"...a freak."_

Alex VO: _"...a musician."_

AJ VO: _"...a geek."_

Mickie VO: _"...a tough chick."_

Punk VO: _"...and a rebel."_

Chris VO: _"That answer your question?_

_... Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club."_


End file.
